Here are some developments from regions across Ukraine:
Kyiv: Russia confirmed on Friday that it had fired missiles at the capital late Thursday and said it had destroyed an arms factory, while Ukrainian officials said at least one apartment building had been bombed and a journalist working for US-funded Radio Free Europe had been killed.
The attack, as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ended a visit to Kyiv, has shaken the relative calm that has returned to the capital in recent weeks after Moscow shifted its offensive to the east Ukraine.
KharkivOn Saturday, the governor of the Kharkiv region said that fierce battles erupted around the city of Izum as Russian forces are fighting to advance, and that the bombing hit areas in the east of the wider region at night. He said on Telegram that artillery shelling had subsided somewhat in the city in the past 24 hours, but called on residents to be vigilant and to refrain from large gatherings, even at funerals.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday that Russian forces have deployed military units as reinforcements in Kharkiv, especially around Izyum.
Mariupol: The Azovstal steel plant and its environs came under fire as besieged Ukrainian fighters cling to their last strongholds in the southern port city. Ukrainian officials have reported a dire situation inside the factory where food and water supplies are dwindling, and wounded civilians and soldiers need medical attention.
Mikhailo Vershinin, Donetsk Region Police Chief of Patrols, told The Post that the area around the facility is being bombarded by Russian forces. “We are ready to leave the territory of the Azovstal plant,” he said. But this requires guarantees.
In the Donbass region: Russian forces are launching an offensive on Luhansk and Donetsk states, with the governor of Luhansk on Saturday saying artillery shelling has damaged dozens of homes in recent days. Local officials said earlier this week that damage to infrastructure has left many residents without electricity or water.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday that troops repelled more than a dozen attacks in Donetsk and Luhansk in the past 24 hours. It said earlier this week that Russian forces have captured some urban settlements in their quest to expand their hold on the two provinces that make up the eastern Donbass region.
Tim Bella and Andrew Jeong contributed to this report.
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