One person was killed and 23 were injured, including a child, after Russian forces on Thursday shelled the southern city of Mykolaiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The shelling comes amid reports of deaths in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia province, including the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol. Zelenskyy’s office said at least seven civilians were killed and 33 wounded Wednesday and Thursday.
The overnight attack in Mykolaiv involved four missiles that Zelenskyy said were aimed at private houses, a historic building and a high-rise building. Zelenskyy called the attack a “crime against humanity” in a statement Thursday.
“We will find all the culprits,” he said. “There will be accountability for everything.”
Meanwhile, two men died amid “chaotic shelling” in Orikhiv in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia province, the region’s military administration said Thursday.
Administration head Yurii Malashko said there were 83 Russian attacks in the region in the past day, 69 of them with artillery.
In Melitopol, one police officer was killed and another was injured in an explosion at an apartment building Thursday, the Russian-backed city administration said.
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Developments:
►Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said he asked Pope Francis on Thursday to visit the country and help facilitate the return of children forcibly taken to Russia.
►Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Wednesday that he’s facing new extremism and terrorism charges that could keep him behind bars for life, calling the extremism accusation “absurd” and questioning how he could be “conducting terror attacks while sitting in prison.”
►More than 2,200 Ukrainians taken as prisoners by Russia have returned home in exchanges, Zelenskyy said in his nightly address. That includes a prisoner swap this week involving 44 Ukrainians and 40 Russians.
►The Ukrainian government on Wednesday launched a $2.7 million initiative dubbed BRAVE1 to promote innovation in developing drones and other technologies for the war.
►U.S. and European officials on Wednesday toured Ukraine’s southern port of Izmail, which is vital in exporting Ukrainian grain to the world. After the tour, U.S. Ambassador Bridget Brink told reporters officials were exploring ways to increase exports from ports along the Danube River, including Izmail.
Russians set up fighting positions atop reactor buildings at nuclear plant
For the first time since taking control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in March 2022, Russian forces have integrated reactor buildings into their defense planning, the British Defense Ministry said in its latest update.
Satellite imagery provided by the ministry shows fighting positions made of sandbags have been established on the roofs of three of the six reactor buildings.
“Russia has likely constructed these positions because it is increasingly concerned about the prospects of a major Ukrainian offensive,” the ministry said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has been warning for months about the possibility of a nuclear accident caused by fighting in the area, and it has urged the establishment of a safety zone around what’s Europe’s largest nuclear plant.
The ministry said the fighting positions increase the chances the plant’s safety systems could be damaged in a confrontation nearby, although serious damage to the heavily fortified reactors is improbable if the clash involves infantry weapons.
NATO countries send combat vehicles, ammunition to Ukraine
NATO countries have delivered more than 98% of the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine, the alliance’s head said Thursday as the Ukrainians prepare for a counteroffensive expected in the coming weeks.
More than 1,550 armored vehicles, 230 tanks and other equipment and “vast amounts of ammunition” have been sent to Ukraine by member nations, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. Member nations also have trained and equipped more than nine new Ukrainian brigades made up of more than 30,000 troops.
“This will put Ukraine in a strong position to continue to retake occupied territory,” Stoltenberg said at a news conference in Brussels.
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NATO chief notes China has not condemned Russian invasion
Stoltenberg said he welcomes the call this week between Zelenskyy and China’s President Xi Jinping but noted the country has not condemned Russia’s invasion.
“I think it’s important also that China gets a better understanding of Ukrainian perspectives,” Stoltenberg said Thursday. “This doesn’t change the fact that China has not been able to condemn Russia’s illegal war, illegal invasion of Ukraine.”
Zelenskyy and Xi spoke on the phone for an hour Wednesday, their first conversation since the Russian invasion, and China announced it would send a representative to Ukraine to hold talks with “all parties,” according to China’s Foreign Ministry.
Zelenskyy described the call as “long and meaningful,” saying he believes it will “give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations.”
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Russia denies visit to American reporter Evan Gershkovich
Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday denied a U.S. request for a consular visit to Evan Gershkovich, an American reporter who has been declared “wrongfully detained.”
The ministry said it rejected the request for a visit May 11 because the U.S. denied visas to Russian journalists who wanted to cover Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s trip to the United Nations.
Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, has been jailed on espionage charges since his arrest March 29. His employer and the U.S. government have denied the allegations.
Contributing: The Associated Press
Contact Christine Fernando at cfernando@usatoday.com or follow her on Twitter at @christinetfern.
