Russian forces shelled the city of Bakhmut, which has become a focal point in Russia's months-long attempts to seize control of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. The head of the Russian private military group Wagner indicated that "Ukrainian forces are pouring into the city ahead of an inevitable counterattack."
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on its Facebook page that "fighting is intense in Bakhmut and nearby areas," considering that "Russian forces failed to advance toward two villages to the northwest while at least 12 areas came under fire from Russian forces."
Additionally, the spokesperson for the group of forces stationed in eastern Ukraine, Serhiy Cherevatyi, stated on national television on Wednesday that "in the past 24 hours, Russian forces launched 324 attacks using artillery and multiple rocket launchers," emphasizing that "the Russians are destroying buildings in Bakhmut to prevent our soldiers from using them as fortifications."
The governor of the Mykolaiv region in southern Ukraine, Vitaliy Kim, mentioned that "Russian missiles struck a residential complex and a house in the city of the same name," posting on Telegram, "one person was killed and 15 others were injured," noting that "emergency services extinguished several fires and are still working to clear the rubble."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated via Telegram, "During the night, Russia bombed Mykolaiv with four Kalibr missiles launched from the Black Sea," pointing out that "the precision weapons targeted homes, a historic building, and a multi-storey building. So far, we have recorded one casualty and 23 injuries, including a child."
A video posted by Zelensky showed severely damaged buildings with shattered windows and smoke rising from them. Officials announced that "one person was killed and 23 others injured, including a child, in a Russian missile attack on buildings in the city of Mykolaiv in the early hours of Thursday." The population of Mykolaiv, a coastal city and shipbuilding center, was about 470,000 before the invasion and has experienced heavy Russian shelling throughout the months of war.
