Ukraine battle reside: 11 killed in Donetsk as Russia steps up assaults after Trump defends Putin

Russian troops retook from Ukrainian forces the villages of Viktorovka, Nikolaevka and Staraya Sorochina in Russia’s western Kursk area, the Tass state information company reported on Saturday, citing the defence ministry.

Reuters couldn’t independently affirm the battlefield report.

The Russian military has been combating to eject Ukrainian troops from Kursk since final August, when Kyiv’s forces staged a lightning incursion over the border and seized a swath of Russian territory.

Talking about Russian missile and drone assaults on Ukraine’s japanese metropolis of Dobropillia in a single day, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on Fb:

Such strikes present that Russia’s targets haven’t modified. Due to this fact, it’s essential to proceed to do our greatest to guard lives, strengthen our air defences, and enhance sanctions towards Russia. The whole lot that helps Putin finance the battle should collapse.”

Russia has carried out big strikes throughout Ukraine because it focused amenities in a number of areas, together with Odesa and Poltava, utilizing almost 70 cruise and ballistic missiles and virtually 200 assault drones, in accordance with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Over a matter of days, the White Home has suspended weapons deliveries and the provision of intelligence to Kyiv. Zelenskyy is because of journey to Saudi Arabia on Monday to satisfy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Andrew Roth

Donald Trump has stated Vladimir Putin was “doing what anybody would do” after Russia launched an enormous missile and drone strike on Ukraine days after the US reduce off very important intelligence and army help to Kyiv.

Talking to reporters within the Oval Workplace on Friday Trump stated he finds it “easier” to work with Russia than Ukraine and that Putin “wants to end the war”.

“I’m finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine. And they don’t have the cards,” Trump stated. “In terms of getting a final settlement, it may be easier dealing with Russia.”

Requested whether or not the Russian chief was making the most of the pause in US intelligence sharing and army help to Ukraine, Trump replied: “I actually think he is doing what anybody else would do.”

Senior US and Ukrainian officers plan to satisfy in Saudi Arabia subsequent week as Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his advisers search to revive relations with the US after a botched summit within the Oval Workplace throughout which Trump instructed Zelenskyy he was “gambling with world war three”.

Russia launched an enormous drone and missile assault on Ukrainian vitality amenities on Friday within the wake of the US resolution to halt intelligence sharing with Ukraine that had helped it goal incoming fireplace.

Talking with reporters within the Oval Workplace, Trump stated: “We’re doing very well with Russia. But right now they’re bombing the hell out of Ukraine.”

You may learn extra on this reporting by Andrew Roth in Washington and Luke Harding in Kyiv right here:

A tank at Russia’s Kirishi refinery, one of many nation’s largest, was broken by falling particles throughout a Ukrainian drone assault, the governor of the north-western Leningrad area stated on Saturday, studies Reuters.

Surgutneftegaz’s Kirishinefteorgsintez (KINEF) refinery is among the high two refineries in Russia. It refines about 17.7 million tons a 12 months (355,000 barrels a day) of Russian crude, or 6.4% of the entire, in accordance with trade sources.

“Air defences shot down one drone on approach, the other was destroyed over the territory of the enterprise,” Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad area, stated on Telegram.

“When the debris fell, the external structure of one of the tanks was damaged,” he stated.
Nobody was injured, he stated.

The refinery produces about 2.3 million tons of gasoline – 5.3% of Russia’s whole – 7.6% of its diesel gas, 16.3% of its gas oil and three.4% of the nation’s aviation gas, in accordance with trade sources.

Looking forward to Ukraine’s talks with the US subsequent week on a attainable finish to the battle with Russia, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is because of land in Saudi Arabia on Monday for discussions with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The assembly is a day earlier than Ukrainian officers are anticipated to carry contemporary talks with their US counterparts on Tuesday within the Center Jap kingdom.

After assembly with Prince Mohammed, Zelensky stated his crew “will remain in Saudi Arabia to work with our American partners”, Agence France-Presse studies.

“Ukraine is most interested in peace,” he added.

Earlier on Friday, the Ukrainian president renewed requires a mutual halt to aerial assaults on vital infrastructure following the current Russian barrage.

He stated the primary steps to establishing actual peace needs to be stopping each Russian and Ukrainian aerial and naval assaults.

This newest proposal builds on rising rhetoric from Kyiv, Washington and Moscow on halting the battle.

The Kremlin has beforehand dominated out a short lived ceasefire in Ukraine.

5 youngsters had been among the many 30 wounded in in a single day Russian assaults on Dobropillia which additionally killed at the very least 11 individuals, the Ukrainian inside ministry stated on Saturday.

It stated Russian forces attacked the city in japanese Ukraine with ballistic missiles, a number of rockets and drones, damaging eight multi-storey buildings and 30 automobiles, Reuters studies.

“While extinguishing the fire, the occupiers struck again, damaging the fire truck,” the ministry stated on Telegram.

It printed photographs of partially destroyed buildings engulfed in fireplace and rescuers eradicating rubble from the buildings.

Dobropillia, residence to about 28,000 individuals earlier than the battle, is within the Donetsk area of japanese Ukraine, 22km (14 miles) from the entrance line north of the important thing hub of Pokrovsk, which Russian troops have been attacking for weeks.

The ministry additionally stated at the very least three individuals had been killed and 7 injured in a separate drone assault on the Kharkiv area in a single day.

The Ukrainian army stated Russia attacked Ukraine in a single day with two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and one Iskander-Ok cruise missile in addition to 145 drones.

The army stated air forces shot down one cruise missile and 79 drones. It stated one other 54 drones didn’t attain their targets, probably as a result of digital countermeasures.

A tank at Russia’s Kirishi oil refinery – one of many nation’s largest – was broken by falling particles throughout a significant Ukrainian drone assault, the governor of the north-western Leningrad area stated on Saturday.

Surgutneftegaz’s Kirishinefteorgsintez (KINEF) refinery is among the high two refineries in Russia, Reuters studies.

“Air defences shot down one drone on approach, the other was destroyed over the territory of the enterprise,” Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad area, stated on Telegram.

When the particles fell, the exterior construction of one of many tanks was broken.

Nobody was injured, he stated.

The extent of the injury to the refinery was not instantly clear. There was no instant remark from Surgutneftegaz, one in every of Russia’s largest oil firms, or from Ukraine.

Trade sources say the Kirishi refinery refines about 17.7m tons a 12 months or 355,000 barrels a day of Russian crude – 6.4% of the nation’s whole.

Welcome to our reside protection of the Russia-Ukraine battle. Right here’s a snapshot of the newest to convey you in control.

A minimum of 11 individuals had been killed and 30 wounded in Russian strikes on japanese Ukraine’s Donetsk area late on Friday, the nation’s emergency service stated on Saturday, elevating the sooner loss of life toll of 4.

A minimum of 9 buildings had been broken within the assault on the centre of Dobropillia, it stated on Telegram.

The regional governor stated earlier that Russian forces had launched three night-time strikes in town north of Pokrovsk, a focus of their advance by way of japanese Ukraine, and in accordance with preliminary info high-rise condominium buildings had been concerned. Emergency crews had been on the web site, Vadym Filashki stated on Telegram.

In the meantime in Russia, hundreds of Ukrainian troops who stormed into the nation’s Kursk area final August are virtually surrounded by Russian forces there in a significant blow to Kyiv, which hoped to make use of its presence as leverage over Moscow in any peace talks, Reuters has reported, citing open supply maps.

The information company stated the maps confirmed Ukraine’s state of affairs in Kursk had deteriorated sharply prior to now three days, after Russian forces retook territory as a part of a gathering counteroffensive that has almost reduce the Ukrainian pressure in two and separated the primary group from its principal provide strains.

The state of affairs for Ukraine comes after Washington suspended its intelligence sharing with Kyiv and raises the chance that its forces could also be pressured right into a retreat again into Ukraine or danger being captured or killed.

In different developments:

• Russia carried out big ballistic missile and drone strikes throughout Ukraine a day after the US stopped sharing intelligence with Kyiv which had beforehand given advance warnings of assaults. The strikes got here early on Friday as a Ukrainian delegation ready to satisfy with US counterparts in Saudi Arabia subsequent week for talks a couple of attainable finish to the battle, report Luke Harding and Dan Sabbagh. In a put up on Fact Social, Donald Trump appeared to criticise Russia’s newest bombardment. The US president posted: “Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED.”

• Individually, Trump stated after the strikes that Vladimir Putin was “doing what anybody would do”. “I think he wants to get it [the war] stopped and settled and I think he’s hitting them harder than he’s been hitting them and I think probably anybody in that position would be doing that right now,” he instructed reporters within the White Home. Trump additionally stated he discovered it “easier” to take care of Russia than with Ukraine in efforts to finish the battle and that he trusted Putin, the Russian president. “I believe him,” Trump stated. “I’m finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine and they don’t have the cards. It may be easier dealing with Russia.”

• Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to Russia’s strikes by calling for a truce overlaying air and sea. “The first steps to establishing real peace should be forcing the sole source of this war, Russia, to stop such attacks,” the Ukrainian president stated on Telegram. Moscow has rejected the thought of a short lived truce, which has additionally been proposed by Britain and France.

• US aerospace firm Maxar Applied sciences disabled Ukraine’s entry to its satellite tv for pc photographs after a request from the Trump administration. Maxar stated it had contracts with the US authorities and dozens of allied and accomplice nations and “each customer makes their own decisions on how they use and share that data”.

• Zelenskyy’s approval ranking in Ukraine has risen by 10 proportion factors since his White Home spat with Trump, a survey by a number one Ukrainian pollster confirmed on Friday. The ballot by the Kyiv Worldwide Institute of Sociology – carried out from 14 February to 4 March – discovered 67% of respondents trusted Zelenskyy in March, up from 57% a month earlier.

• Iran’s international ministry denied accusations by Emmanuel Macron that Tehran had equipped gear to Russia to be used within the Ukraine battle, calling the French president’s remarks “baseless and false”.