Russia-Ukraine war latest updates: Dnipro attack death toll rises to 22

DNIPRO, Ukraine – Rescue workers continued to sift through the massive pile of rubble outside a building that was damaged over the weekend in an attack that killed at least 22 people, according to the country’s emergency services. Emergency personnel searched for survivors inside what was left of the building and in the rubble outside, as rescue dogs remained at the scene.

Kyiv renewed its calls for more advanced Western air defense systems after the attack, which Ukrainian officials said was caused by a Russian long-range missile that Ukraine’s military was “unable to shoot down.” Ukraine’s armed forces said defensive weapons such as the Patriot missile system the Pentagon is preparing to deploy could have been capable of intercepting such an attack.

Here are the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.

4. From our correspondents

Bloody siege of Bakhmut poses risks for Ukraine: Ukrainian officials must make a tough choice as the battle for control of Bakhmut intensifies in the east — draining personnel and resources just as Kiev needs both for the counteroffensive it says it is planning to launch in the coming months, Paul Sonne and Isabelle Khurshudyan report.

Russian forces – mostly made up of mercenaries and convicts released from the Wagner group – have been trying to capture Bakhmut for months, even though many military analysts see the city as of relatively little strategic importance to the wider battlefield. However, the city has become a powerful political symbol on both sides, and US officials have said the area’s vast salt and gypsum mines are of interest to the Kremlin. As Russia has escalated its offensive around the area in recent days, the fierce fighting has underlined the high cost of the battle.

Now, Ukrainian officials are faced with a choice: Continue to pour troops, weapons and ammunition into the fight for Bakhmut, or save those resources for the broader battle ahead, at the risk of losing the area to the Russians.

“For us, Bakhmut is the same corner of our country as Soledar, Kherson, Melitopol, Kharkiv or Dnipro. It is our birthplace. We fight and will fight for every meter of our land,” said Yuriy Skala, the commander of an intelligence battalion fighting in Bakhmut. “But we will fight smartly: if the circumstances call for a tactical maneuver, the senior military leadership will surely make the appropriate conclusions and actions.”

O’Grady and Galouchka reported from Dnipro. Timsit reported from London and Pannett from Sydney.