Enlarge image
Forces at the destroyed house in Kharkiv: At least six people died in the attack
Photo: Ukraine State Emergency Service/HANDOUT/EPA
What has happened in the past few hours
At
least six people were killed and 16 injured
in an attack by the Russian army in the
eastern Ukrainian city of
Kharkiv
.
A high-rise building was hit, Mayor Ihor Terekhov told Telegram.
According to media reports, a cruise missile struck the house and set it on fire.
Regional governor Oleh Sinegubov said that other places in Ukraine's second largest city had also been hit.
The shelling was "pretty chaotic".
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of a "mean and cynical attack on civilians for which there is no justification and which only shows the helplessness of the aggressor".
Kharkiv had been heavily shelled by Russian artillery the night before.
Russian
troops
made
minor gains in Donetsk
region in eastern Ukraine .
This emerges from the report of the Ukrainian general staff on Wednesday.
Accordingly, the Russians recorded successes at Opytne in the north of Donetsk and at Nowomykhajliwka in the south-west.
On other sections,
Russian attacks were repelled
.
Villages north of Sloviansk and to the east and south of the cities of Soledar and Bakhmut were mentioned.
Russian attacks were also repulsed southwest of Wuhledar.
"Russian forces have made minimal progress since last month, and in some cases we have advanced," Ukraine's presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said in a video.
"What we're seeing here is a 'strategic dead end'."
According to the General Staff report,
artillery shelled Ukrainian positions in several dozen locations
along the entire front line
.
There were almost a dozen Russian airstrikes.
The supreme commander of the Ukrainian army, Valeriy Zalushny, said the previous day that the Russian army was firing 40,000 to 60,000 rounds of ammunition at Ukrainian army positions every day.
This information cannot be independently verified.
That says Kyiv
The Ukrainian President has again called for the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
"This must be done without conditions and as soon as possible,"
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
said in his video speech on Wednesday evening.
Ukrainian diplomats, scientists and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are working to allow an expert commission to visit the nuclear power plant.
"Only absolute transparency and a controlled situation in and around the nuclear power plant guarantee a return to normal nuclear safety for the Ukrainian state, the international community and the IAEA," Zelenskyy said.
The situation in Europe's largest nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russian troops, has been worrying the international community for weeks.
Bullets keep falling on the power plant site, with Russia and Ukraine blaming each other for it.
Meanwhile ,
Ukrainian military
intelligence reports that Russia is bringing planes to safety in Crimea.
Some of the aircraft would be transferred to the interior of the peninsula annexed in 2014, and some would be withdrawn to the Russian mainland.
The relocation of at least 24 aircraft and 14 helicopters was observed (you can find out more about this here).
The information from Kyiv could not be checked.
International reactions
Estonia has tightened its visa regulations for people from Russia - and restricted their entry.
As of this Thursday, Russian citizens are no longer allowed to enter the Baltic EU and NATO country with a Schengen visa issued by Estonia.
According to a spokesman for the Interior Ministry in Tallinn, additional visa controls are to take place at the three border crossings to Russia in Narva, Luhamaa and Koidula.
In response to Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine, Estonia had already largely suspended issuing visas and residence permits to Russians.
With a valid visa, however, it was still possible to enter the Schengen area via the Estonian border by bus or car.
This is no longer possible in the future.
However, certain exceptions apply, for example, to Russians who are resident, have the right to stay or have relatives in Estonia.
Russian citizens with visas issued by other EU members, which are valid for the entire Schengen area with its 26 European countries, are also allowed to enter the country.
Together with its neighboring countries Finland and Latvia, which also border Russia, Estonia is therefore campaigning for a fundamental ban on tourist visas.
Germany and the EU Commission in Brussels reject this.
What is happening today
Turkey and the United Nations plan to hold a meeting with the President of Ukraine today.
To this end, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Selenskyj are to travel to Lviv (Lemberg) in western Ukraine.
According to a Turkish announcement, the "end of the war between Ukraine and Russia will also be discussed there through diplomatic channels".
According to the UN, Guterres is traveling to Lviv at Zelensky's invitation.
You can find out more about the triple summit here.
aar/dpa/AFP
