War in Ukraine: Ukraine attack in Belgorod kills 5, says Russia has occupied villages… Update on situation

Ukraine drone strikes kill five in Belgorod, Kursk and Donetsk

Five people were killed and nine wounded in multiple drone strikes in the Russian cities of Belgorod, Kursk and Donetsk, local authorities announced Saturday. Three civilians were killed and eight wounded in a Ukrainian missile attack on a restaurant in the city of Donetsk, pro-Russian leader Denis Bushilin said in a Telegram. Donetsk came under the control of pro-Russian separatists in 2015 and is a regular target of Ukrainian bombing. Belgorod regional governor Vyacheslav Klatkov said in a statement posted on Telegram that a Ukrainian drone attack targeting a parked truck killed one person and wounded another.

His counterpart in the Kursk region, Roman Starovoit, reported the death of a civilian in a drone strike in the city of Sudja. Both Belgorod and Kursk were subject to regular attacks from the beginning of the conflict. Also, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Saturday that it had repelled the Ukrainian attacks. Russian forces shot down 21 rockets and 16 drones in Belgorod, Kursk and Volgograd regions, according to a report posted on the Telegram site.

Scholes says Ukrainians working in Germany can stay there

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday that Ukrainians can stay in Germany with residence permits to work, as Kiev seeks to recruit nationals living abroad. The Ukrainian government last month tightened rules by temporarily banning military-age men from applying for passports abroad to deal with a shortage of troops on the ground to counter Russian offensives. “The legal situation makes the right to reside here unquestionable,” Olaf Scholes said during an event webcast by the RND newspaper group. “Having a job leads to residential security,” he said, adding that Germany wants to encourage Ukrainians to work in the country.

Russia claims it has occupied villages in the Kharkiv region

Russia said on Saturday that its forces had captured five villages in the Kharkiv region, where it launched a fresh ground offensive the day before. The Russian Defense Ministry announced that Russian forces captured the villages of Pledenivka, Ohirtsev, Borysivka, Pilna and Strychna along the Russian-Ukrainian border. The ministry also said that Russian troops had captured the village of Keramik in the southern Donetsk region, and that Moscow was continuing to advance after capturing the fortress of Avtivka in February. On cue, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video that fighting continued Saturday in seven border villages in Kharkiv region, and described the situation in southern Donetsk region. “particularly tense”.

“Our defensive operations continue in the Kharkiv region, in the territory of the villages of Strylecha, Krasne, Morokovets, Olynikovo, Lukyantsi, Hadishche and Pledenivka,” he described. “In addition, the situation in Donetsk is particularly tense”. Clashes took place in five villages near the Russian border, Kharkiv regional governor Ole Tsinihubov said. “Currently, the enemy is maintaining pressure in the north of our region, and our forces have repelled nine attacks.”, he said during a press conference. Governor Sinihubov said that more than 2,500 people have been evacuated from the border area. Ukrainian authorities announced Friday that they had launched a new offensive in Russia’s Kharkiv region around the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv.

Ukraine pushed Russian troops out of most of the Kharkiv region in 2022, shortly after Russia invaded. However, Russian forces have resumed their offensive and are slowly advancing in the Donetsk region. Russia has repeatedly said it wants to build one “Prevention” It is located north of Kharkiv, thirty kilometers from the border and a daily target of its bombings. Moscow says it wants to curtail Ukrainian offensives targeting Belgorod and prevent embarrassing incursions into its territory, where Russian fighters have marched as far as Kiev.