Russia-Ukraine war live updates: Moscow claims control of Azovstal plant; Kremlin stops shipping gas to Finland
Severodonetsk: Officials in this key city, the easternmost under Ukrainian control, are bracing for a major drawn-out battle as experts anticipate Russia seeking to take control of the city. “Significant Russian offensive operations are confined” to near the city, the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, reported Friday, adding that Russian forces made “marginal gains” to the north, west, and south of the city.
Kharkiv region: At least seven people were wounded, including an 11-year-old, during a Russian missile strike on a cultural center in Lozova, in the northeast Kharkiv region, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, referring to the violence as “absolute evil.” Regional governor Oleg Synegubov said the target was deliberate. Russian forces had sought to encircle the city of Kharkiv, the second-largest in Ukraine, but they have been forced to retreat after Ukrainian troops in recent weeks mounted a successful counteroffensive.
Donetsk region: Aiming to encircle Ukrainian forces to capture the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Russian forces have moved toward Slovyansk. Invaders have tried to erect a pontoon bridge over the Severskyi Donets River and conducted artillery strikes, according to the Institute for the Study of War report.
Mariupol: The last of the holdout fighters at the Azovstal steel plant have surrendered, the Russian Defense Ministry said, marking the end of the resistance against Russia’s takeover of the southeastern port city.
Odesa: A Russian missile struck an infrastructure facility in the region, causing a fire, Odesa Regional Military Administration spokesman Serhiy Bratchuk said on Telegram. No one was hurt.