A barrage of Russian rockets struck several Ukrainian areas early Thursday morning, including the port city of Odesa on the Black Sea and Kharkiv, resulting in power outages across multiple regions.
Kharkiv Governor Oleg Synegubov announced that the city and surrounding areas experienced fifteen airstrikes targeting infrastructure. A missile attack hit an energy facility in the coastal city, leading to electricity disruptions. Residential areas were also affected, but no reports of casualties or injuries have emerged, according to Odesa Governor Maxim Marchenko.
The Ukrainian military confirmed late Wednesday that it managed to repel intense Russian attacks on the city of Bakhmut, despite Russia claiming to have taken control of its eastern half. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated on Facebook that "the enemy continued its attacks and showed no sign of halting its assault on the city of Bakhmut." It added, "Our defenders repelled the assaults on Bakhmut and the surrounding areas."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the new wave of Russian missile strikes, stating that Moscow "will not evade responsibility." In a statement published on the messaging app Telegram, Zelensky said that critical infrastructure and residential buildings in ten regions of Ukraine were bombed in the recent nighttime attacks. He noted that "only occupiers can terrorize civilians. That's all they can do. But that won’t help them. They will not escape responsibility for all that they have done."
As one of the bloodiest battles in the ongoing year-long war, the Ukrainian defenders, who appeared to be preparing for a tactical withdrawal from Bakhmut last week, held their ground on Wednesday. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg did not rule out the possibility of Bakhmut falling.
European Union defense ministers agreed to expedite artillery shell supplies and purchase more ammunition to assist the Ukrainian army, which is consuming shells faster than its allies can produce them.
