Southern Ukraine campaign

Security services say a series of fires and attacks on infrastructure could be part of Russia's attempt to destabilise Europe

In 2023, Russia had relocated most of its Black Sea Fleet vessels from Crimea to Novorossiysk following a series of Ukrainian strikes, including a major missile attack on the fleet’s headquarters in Sevastopol

Dmytro Penteleychuk, head of the Joint Coordination Press Center for Southern Ukraine's Defense Forces, suggested that the Russian occupiers might have lost their last cruise missile carrier in Crimea. During a telethon, he discussed the results of the recent Ukrainian attack on the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol's port.

Russian forces are reportedly making advances towards the Ukrainian village of Lyptsi near Kharkiv, according to a report by the Russian news agency RIA. The ongoing conflict in the Kharkiv region has prompted Ukraine to withdraw its troops from several villages along the border, with soldiers relocating to safer positions in response to heavy fire from Russian forces.

Russia said Wednesday its forces had pushed deeper into the Kharkiv region and also captured the symbolic town of Robotyne further south, one of the only prizes of Ukraine's underwhelming counteroffensive last summer.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday that 10 long-range ATACMS missiles launched from Ukraine were intercepted and shot down over Crimea during the night. Mikhail Razvozhaev, the governor of Sevastopol, reported that debris from the intercepted missiles fell in a residential area.

Russian air defenses have successfully intercepted multiple Ukrainian drones flying over Russian territory. This development comes amidst Ukrainian President's renewed plea for expedited deliveries of weapons and ammunition to bolster the Ukrainian army's capabilities.

Reports confirm that Ukraine has deployed long-range ballistic missiles provided by the United States in secret, targeting Russian forces in occupied territories. The BBC cites US officials who disclosed this information.

Reports emerged last night of renewed Russian missile fire targeting the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, intensifying fears of escalating conflict in the region. The barrage of rockets resulted in loud explosions and caused minor injuries to two individuals, Mayor Igor Terekhov confirmed.

A Russian strike on the northern Ukrainian city of Chernigiv Wednesday killed  at least 11 people and 20 wounded more, as Kiev again sounded the alarm over shortages in its air defense capabilities.

First responders searched for survivors in rubble, carrying away the wounded on stretchers as a pool of blood formed on the ground near the scene of the strikes, official images showed.