Kyiv [Ukraine], November 16: The Russian army killed at least five civilians and injured 17 more on Wednesday, after Russian missiles struck towns in southern and eastern Ukraine, according to local officials on Wednesday.
At least three men died in the embattled Zaporizhzhya region after several Russian missile strikes, regional military governor Yuri Malashko said. Two of those who died were rescue workers.
Fourteen people were injured by Russian fire during the rescue operation.
In the eastern Ukrainian city of Selydove, a Russian missile killed two people, one of them an 85-year-old woman, and injured three more people, after hitting a multistorey residential building, police said.
Four Russian S-300 missiles hit Selydove at dawn, damaging 26 houses, according to police reports. Rescue work is ongoing.
Russia is currently trying to regain the initiative in the eastern Ukraine combat zone, pursuing several parallel attacks, but may not succeed due to pressure from Ukraine's counter-offensive, according to a US analysis.
Fighting is particularly fierce in the Ukrainian cities of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region and Avdiivka and Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in Washington said.
Ukrainian officials also say the situation on the front is difficult and complex for Kiev's troops.
Nevertheless, the US monitor called it a success that the Ukrainian troops were able to establish themselves on the left bank of the Dnipro in the Kherson region in positions previously held by Russian troops.
Ukrainian forces have been conducting larger-than-usual ground operations on the east bank of Dnipro in the Kherson area since mid-October 2023 and appear to be able to maintain and supply their current positions on the Russian-controlled side of the riverbank, says the monitor.
Russian state media had recently briefly reported that Moscow's troops would have to withdraw there, before retracting the reports.
The situation on the front in the east and south of Ukraine is deadlocked, meanwhile, with no significant progress for either side, the ISW said.
As the two sides brace for winter, Ukrainian President VolodymyrZelensky called for supporters of his country to retain their focus, as he joined the German-Ukrainian municipal partnership conference in Leipzig via videolink.
He emphasized that it was not only Ukraine that was under threat from the Russian regime, saying that neighbouring countries were also in danger.
Cities in Germany and Ukraine have a European attitude towards people, Zelensky said, adding this relationship protects human lives.
"It is very important that we don't just use the instruments that the state has," the Ukrainian leader said.
The eastern German city of Leipzig, which is hosting the conference, has had a twin city relationship with the Ukrainian capital Kiev for 62 years.
German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier's office said it is the oldest German-Ukrainian city partnership.
Kiev's mayor, former professional boxer VitaliKlitschko, was also a guest at the conference and said German support is vital for Ukraine.
"Together we are much stronger." Ukraine is also fighting for democratic values and its democratic future, said Klitschko.
Klitschko earlier said he was afraid that many countries would focus less on Ukraine following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
Source: Qatar Tribune
