Here’s what to remember at 7am today:
◾ Russia says it has captured two new villages in eastern Ukraine. According to the Defense Ministry’s daily report yesterday, Moscow’s forces captured the village of Novopokhrovske in Donetsk region (east) and Chebova Novoselivka in Kharkiv region (northeast).
◾ In this context, Ukrainian authorities announced the evacuation of more than 700 residents of Doretsk, but almost 5,000 people remain in the city, and “many of them are trying to leave,” as indicated in Telegram, the national police. The city, untouched by hostilities until recently, is a critical barrier to access to Kramatorsk, the Kremlin’s ultimate objective in the Donbass.
◾ According to the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office, two elderly women were killed and eight others injured in a Russian bombardment using Hurricane rockets in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk region, which damaged an administrative building and houses.
◾ On the Russian side, Ukrainian strikes have cut electricity and running water in the border region of Belgorod, and local officials say it could affect others. The region’s governor said several Ukrainian drone strikes hit energy infrastructure and homes. According to the same source, a four-year-old girl was killed and seven others were injured. Officials from neighboring Kursk and Voronezh regions hinted that strikes were possible after these strikes.
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