Ukraine war briefing: Power cuts in Kharkiv after Russian strikes

Residential buildings and service stations were among targets, say local officials; Russian grip tightens around Pokrovsk with battles in nearby Selydove. What we know on day 971

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Russian strikes on Kharkiv wounded nine people and cut power to part of the city, local officials and police said late on Sunday. Among the targets were residential buildings, garages, service stations, houses and cars. Kharkiv, the main city of the north-east Ukrainian region of the same name, is a regular target of Russian strikes. It lies less than 30km (19 miles) from the Russian border.

Ukraine’s air defence units were engaged soon after midnight on Monday in repelling a Russian air attack targeting Kyiv, said the mayor, Vitali Klitschko, urging people to “stay in shelters”.

Ukraine struck a manufacturer of military explosives deep inside Russian territory as well as storage infrastructure at the Lipetsk-2 military airfield in the region of the same name, Kyiv’s general staff said on Sunday. The Ukrainian armed forces said there were explosions after a strike on the Sverdlov plant in the city of Dzerzhinsk, Nizhny Novgorod region, where chemicals for artillery ammunition and bombs are produced and bombs stored, the report said. The plan is about 400km (250 miles) east of Moscow. Russian war bloggers also reported the attacks.

Russia said its air defence units downed 110 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory, including one over the Moscow region, 43 over Kursk, and 27 over Lipetsk. The Moscow mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said debris fell in the Ramensky district of Moscow region without damage or casualties – though Russian officials often do not disclose the full extent of damage, if any.

Russian forces have fought street-to-street battles with Ukrainian troops in the outskirts of the eastern Ukrainian town of Selydove, according to pro-Russian bloggers. Selydove is south-east of the Donetsk city of Pokrovsk, which Russian forces are pushing hard to capture. The Ukrainian military general staff, in a late evening report on Sunday, said Ukrainian forces had repelled 41 Russian attacks around several towns and villages, including Selydove, and several battles continued.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Russia had launched about 800 guided aerial bombs and more than 500 attack drones over Ukraine in the past week alone. “Every day, Russia strikes our cities and communities. It is deliberate terror from the enemy against our people,” he said, renewing calls for continued air support from the country’s allies. “United in defence, the world can stand against this targeted terror.”

Zelenskyy said on Sunday he was seeking a strong reaction from countries that have acknowledged North Korea is becoming more involved in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Zelenskyy said there was ample satellite and video evidence that North Korea was sending not only equipment to Russia, but also soldiers to be prepared for deployment. “We expect a normal, honest, strong reaction from our partners on this.”

Zelenskiy last week accused North Korea of deploying officers to Russia and preparing to send thousands of troops into the war. Involvement of North Korean regular troops would be a serious escalation of the war, France and Ukraine’s foreign ministers said at a joint press conference in Kyiv on Saturday. South Korea’s spy agency said on Friday that North Korea had sent 1,500 special forces troops to Russia’s far east for training. The US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, said on Saturday that he could not confirm reports North Korea had sent troops to Russia ahead of a possible deployment, but said such a move would be concerning if true. The Nato chief, Mark Rutte, said on Thursday there was no evidence yet of Pyongyang’s presence.

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