Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 326 of the invasion | Ukraine
Russia launched two massive missile attacks in Ukraine on Saturday, destroying an apartment block in Dnipro and leaving at least 14 people dead and 64 injured, at least a dozen of them children. Rescue efforts are continuing in the south-central city on Sunday. At least one person was also killed in a separate attack on a residential area in the nearby city of Kryvyi Rih. Ukrainian authorities said the targets were the country’s energy infrastructure.
The UK Prime Minister has confirmed that the country will provide tanks to Ukraine to help Kiev’s forces “push back Russian troops”. Downing Street said Rishi Sunak made the pledge during a phone call on Saturday morning with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and that Sunak offered Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems as a sign of the UK’s “ambition to intensify our support to Ukraine”. Russia’s embassy in Britain said the move would only “intensify” the conflict.
Emergency power cuts were enacted in 11 regions of Ukraine following Russian attacks on energy infrastructure. In a Telegram post, network operator Ukrenegro said consumption limits in force across the country had been exceeded in 11 regions, as a result of which “emergency shutdowns have been applied.”
Four explosions were heard in the center of Kiev on Saturday morning. For the first time since Russia began regular missile and drone strikes on the capital in the fall, air raid sirens were heard after the attack. Until now, the sirens have gone off 10-90 minutes before an attack, giving residents time to seek shelter.
Air raid alerts were also issued across the country, including in the major cities of Kherson and Lviv. Alerts were also issued for Kharkiv, Donestk, Dnipropetrovsk and about a dozen other regions.
Ukraine has called on its allies to give it more support after its troops suffered heavy losses in fighting in Soledar and Bakhmut in recent months. Russia said on Friday that its forces had taken control of Soledar in eastern Ukraine, its first claim of victory after months of battlefield setbacks, while Kiev said heavy fighting was continuing in the city. “To win this war, we need more military equipment, heavy equipment,” said Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Agence France-Presse reported.
Moldovan authorities said debris from a missile was found on its territory near the border with Ukraine. They said on Saturday that the find came “after Russia’s massive bombing of Ukraine” and that it was the third time that missiles from the conflict had landed on Moldovan territory.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has accused Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of shameful subservience to the US and suggested he should ritually dismember himself. His remarks on Saturday were the latest in a long line of shocking and provocative statements by hawkish leader Medvedev, Reuters reported. Speaking later on Saturday, a day after a summit with US President Joe Biden, Kishida made no mention of Medvedev’s comment.
