Russian missile strike destroys apartment building in Ukraine, killing at least 3

Rescuers combed the debris in a city in Eastern Ukraine on Friday, where a Russian missile attack overnight destroyed an apartment building and destroyed nine others, killing at least three people.

Police forces said an apartment in the city of Kramatorsk was hit by an Iskander-K tactical missile at 21:45 local time. Earlier reports had described it as an attack with rockets.

“Ten apartment buildings were damaged, one partially collapsed. Search and rescue work, which continued throughout the night, is still ongoing,” the police said in a statement.

The dead included a husband and wife and a 61-year-old pensioner, whose daughter is still believed to be missing. Eighteen people were also injured.

The city is close to the front lines in Eastern Ukraine, and many residents fled or regularly hid in cellars, which could save lives compared to similar attacks elsewhere. A missile attack on an apartment block in the central city of Dnipro two weeks ago killed at least 44 people.

Distraught residents sorted through their scattered personal belongings, as the interior of their apartment was exposed to the blasted wall of a neighboring building.

“This is the center of the city. Only civilians live here, so any attempt to correct this is futile,” regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko told Reuters at the scene.

Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians.

Kramatorsk is about 55 kilometers northwest of Bakhmut, now the main focus of fighting in Eastern Ukraine.

Russia takes advantage of troop numbers: analysts

Russia, determined to make progress before Ukraine gets new promises of Western war tanks and armored vehicles, has picked up the momentum in the battle and announced progress north and south of Bakhmut, which has suffered continuous Russian bombardment for months.

“A certain increase has been noted in offensive operations of the occupiers at the front in the eastern part of our country. The situation has become more difficult,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote in Telegram.

“The enemy is trying to get at least now to show that Russia has some chances on the anniversary of the invasion,” he said.

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Bakhmut and 10 surrounding towns and villages are under Russian fire, the Ukrainian military said late Wednesday.

Russian forces are pushing from the north and south to encircle Bakhmut, using superior troop numbers to try to cut off resupply and force the Ukrainians out, Ukrainian military analyst Yevhen Dikiy said.

“This for us is the most difficult scenario,” Dikiy told Espreso TV.

“The enemy was able to use their only resource, which was abundant, their people,” he said, describing the landscape northeast of Bakhmut “literally covered with corpses.”

Ukraine and its Western allies say Moscow has suffered heavy losses around Bakhmut, sending in waves of poorly equipped troops, including thousands of convicts recruited from prisons as mercenaries.

Russian forces are also examining areas of weakness in Ukraine’s defenses on the western edge of the Luhansk region, governor Serhiy Gaidai told Ukrainian TV Thursday.

“The number of shelling is increasing, the number of attacks in the direction of Svatove-Kreminna is increasing … They are gathering our positions with bodies,” Gaidai said.

Reuters could not confirm the battlefield report.

Fighter jet pilot training takes years: UK

In a separate tweet early Thursday, Zelenskyy wrote: “The only way to stop Russian terrorism is to defeat it. By tanks. Fighter jets. Long-range missiles.”

Ukraine, which last week secured a pledge of battle tanks, wants allies to supply fighter jets and missiles.

“We are focused on providing Ukraine with the capabilities it needs to be effective in the counter-offensive that will come in the spring,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during a visit to the Philippines on Thursday.

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Moscow says the shipment will escalate the conflict but not change its course.

As for fighter jets, the UK says it is currently impractical to send them to Ukraine, given the complexity of the jets and the length of time it takes to train pilots.

“We will continue to listen to the Ukrainian people and consider what is right for the long term, but – if it helps to understand the situation – the fastest training program for new pilots is about 35 months,” Prime Minister’s spokesman Rishi Sunak told reporters. on Thursday

“Now [domestic] the fast jet training program takes five years,” the spokesperson said.

EU notes Ukraine’s progress in tackling corruption

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy promised more anti-corruption measures ahead of the meeting with the European Union.

The oath came as the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, arrived in Kyiv by train on Thursday together with more than a dozen other senior EU officials, noting on Twitter “important steps” that Ukraine has taken “to meet our recommendations.”

Unwilling to recognize a country currently at war, the EU is expected to end Ukraine’s hopes of becoming a member soon, underscoring the need for anti-corruption measures.

The European Union says it has allocated nearly 60 billion euros ($87.5 billion Cdn) in aid to Ukraine, but Kyiv’s membership bid is expected to take years.

Von der Leyen said on Thursday that an international center for the prosecution of war crimes committed in Ukraine will be established in The Hague.