Ukraine Reports Russian Missile Strikes Residential Building

Authorities in Ukraine said Thursday a Russian missile struck an apartment building in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, killing at least three people.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on Telegram that the missile destroyed three floors of the building, and that search efforts were ongoing.

“The terrorist state wants to turn every day for our people into a day of terror. But evil will not reign in our land,” Zelenskyy said.  “We will drive all the occupiers out and they will definitely be held accountable for everything.”

Ukraine’s military reported Thursday that Russian forces “continue to advance and storm” the city of Bakhmut, which has been the site of fierce fighting for months.

Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, Hanna Maliar, said Wednesday that Kyiv has sent reinforcements to Bakhmut, even as Russian forces have gradually strengthened their position there. But she did not say how many troops were being deployed or how they would be used — whether as fighters to defend the city or possibly as logistical support if Ukraine decides to retreat.

The death toll at Bakhmut has been staggering for both sides. Ukraine has held on, but Russia’s troop reinforcements have allowed it to seize villages and towns around the city and surround it on three sides.

Much of the Russian fighting in and around Bakhmut has been conducted by troops from the Wagner Group, a mercenary paramilitary force whose leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has close ties to Putin.

On Wednesday, Prigozhin said in an audio message on social media that there was no sign that Ukrainian forces were retreating from the city.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. 
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