Asia Government
Ukrainian attack on Crimea kills five, Russian officials say
Is the war entering a new phase? At least five people have been killed in a Ukrainian attack on Russia and the Crimean peninsula as Kyiv steps up strikes, according to the Russian-appointed governor in the annexed region. Crimea Governor Sergey Aksyonov said two people, including a child, were killed and two others wounded following "overnight enemy attacks" into Thursday. Russia's defence ministry said 269 Ukrainian drones were downed over Russia and Crimea overnight. The head of the Krasnoarmeysk district in Krasnodar Krai said debris from a drone strike triggered an oil depot fire.
Russian troop build-up threatens city seen as key to seizing Ukraine's Donbas
Russian troop build-up threatens city seen as key to seizing Ukraine's Donbas Russian troops have infiltrated the strategic city of Kostyantynivka in eastern Ukraine and are now trying to surround it. The entire city is now effectively in a grey zone, no longer controlled by anyone, Ukrainian soldiers have told the BBC. They get into areas behind our backs and in urban conditions it's extremely difficult to push them out, says a Ukrainian drone pilot who operates in that area and prefers to remain anonymous. Kostyantynivka is a gateway to the rest of the Donbas region. If it falls, Russian forces would be able push towards Ukraine's last remaining strongholds in the east, the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, and move closer to seizing Donbas completely, one of the Kremlin's key objectives in this war.