June 13, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine has moved here.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law Tuesday defining conditions to invalidate Russian travel passports, according to the document published on the government portal website.

The new law puts strict travel restrictions on Russian citizens who could be conscripted to mandatory military service.

Conscripted Russians would have to submit their travel passports to authorities within five business days from the date of being notified “of the decision to restrict the right of a citizen of the Russian Federation to leave,” the law said.

Russian citizens usually have two passports — internal and travel passports.

If a citizen whose right to leave Russia has been limited has not transferred the passport for storage to the correct government department, the passport can also be canceled.

Russian citizens discharged from military service in the FSB —the Federal Security Service — would have to give up their travel passports for storage for up to five years from the date of dismissal from military service.

Diplomatic or service passports could be recognized as invalid if not returned without a good reason within five working days after the completion of a business trip, the law states.

Under the new law, a travel passport becomes invalid if it has been lost, expired, or if the owner has changed personal data — such as name, gender, date or place of birth.

The law also establishes the grounds under which the passport can be withdrawn, for example, if there is a suspicion it contains false information, is issued on the basis of forged documents, or is recognized as unsuitable.

Some more context: Russia has experienced a significant outflow of men fleeing war, especially since the announcement of partial mobilization in September 2022.

Moreover, in April 2023, Russia adopted a package of amendments to the law “On military duty and military service.” The amendments creation of a digital register of those liable for military service and introduced electronic summonses, which are considered received from the moment they are posted in the personal account on the State Services. From the date of delivery of such a summons, it is prohibited to travel abroad.

A Ukrainian military commander said Tuesday that soldiers are fighting fiercely to drive back Russian forces along the border of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, Commander of the Tavria Operational and Strategic Group of Forces, whose soldiers are tackling occupied parts of the Zaporizhzhia region and the parts of the Donetsk region that border it, said:

“In the Tavria sector, the Ukrainian Defence Forces are systematically destroying Russian manpower and equipment.”
“Missile and artillery units of the Ukrainian defense forces in the Tavria sector carried out 1,504 firing missions over the last day,” he said, adding that “an enemy ammunition depot was also destroyed.”

CNN cannot independently verify battlefield claims.

However, both sides have reported clashes in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions

A Ukrainian military official has reiterated accusations that Russian forces are blowing up small dams in areas where Ukrainian troops are on the offensive.

Major Vladyslav Dudar, a representative of the Environmental Safety and Mine Action Department of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, said Russian troops had mined a large number of “hydraulic structures” in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

“They are now blowing up small hydraulic structures in various settlements every day,” Dudar said, adding that the results were not large-scale and affected the agricultural land of one or two villages, according to Ukraine’s Military Media Center. 

On Tuesday, the Ukrainian military said Russian forces had blown up a small dam at a reservoir near the village of Novodarivka in the Zaporizhzhia region, leading to flooding on both banks of Mokri Yaly River. 

Novodarivka is one of several villages in the area that the Ukrainians have claimed in recent days amid offensive operations along several points of the frontlines in southern Ukraine. 

Some more context: This comes after the collapse of the much larger Nova Kakhovka dam last week. Kyiv and Moscow have traded accusations over the dam’s destruction, without providing concrete proof that the other is culpable. The dam was occupied by Russia at the time of its collapse. It is not yet clear whether the dam was deliberately attacked or whether the breach was the result of structural failure.

NATO’s secretary general says Ukraine is gaining ground in its offensive, a fact he said underscored the need for continued Western assistance. 

“The Ukrainians have launched an offensive. It’s still early days, but they are making process. They are gaining ground. The more ground the Ukrainians are able to gain, the stronger hand they will have around the negotiating table,” Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday at the White House following talks with President Biden.

With Ukrainian gains on the battlefield, Russian President Vladimir Putin will recognize that he can’t win the war, the NATO chief said.

The main focus of the Oval Office talks was July’s NATO summit in Lithuania, including the need for members of the alliance to recommit to defense spending levels. 

The Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said Tuesday that the military has seen “certain gains” in its offensive and is “moving forward.”

He said he informed the United States’ top General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about the situation along the frontline in a phone call. 

“Both defensive and offensive fierce fighting is ongoing in the East and South of our nation. We have certain gains, implementing our plans, moving forward,” Zaluzhnyi said in a Facebook post. 

President Joe Biden welcomed NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to the White House Tuesday, telling the European leader he’s done “an incredible job” leading the alliance.

“We saw each other last in Warsaw, and I think you said, and I agree, NATO allies have never been more united. We both worked like hell to make sure that happened and so far, so good,” he told Stoltenberg during a brief press spray in the Oval Office.

The President joked that, in invading Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hopes for a divided NATO backfired.

“I remember you and I talked—I think I said it to you, I know I said that Putin is making a mistake—he was looking for the Finland-ization of NATO, he got the NATO-ization of Finland, and hopefully Sweden,” Biden said. “And your friendship and leadership has meant a great deal. We also strengthened NATO’s Eastern Flank, made it clear that we’ll defend every inch of NATO territory, and I say it again—the commitment of the United States to NATO’s Article 5 is rock solid.”

Looking forward to next month’s NATO summit in Lithuania, Biden pledged the alliance would “be building on that momentum,” while touting support from Asian allies in Japan and South Korea.

And he offered effusive praise for Stoltenberg’s leadership on the European continent, noting, “In no small part because of your leadership, we’ve got, beyond NATO, another 30-something, well a total of 40 nations that are committed to the independence of Ukraine.”

“And I think it’s a real clear message—so God willing, we’re going to be able to keep this unity up, and thank you for your leadership.”

Biden did not respond to shouted questions on the Trump indictment.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Russia is contemplating withdrawing from the Black Sea grain deal, noting Russia took part in the agreement to maintain relationships with “friendly” countries.

“We are now thinking about getting out of this so-called grain deal. Moreover, these corridors along which the ships go are constantly used to launch naval drones,” Putin said during a televised meeting with pro-Kremlin journalists.

Putin said that Russia entered the Black Sea grain deal to help “friendly” countries in Africa and Latin America and maintain good relationships.

“We are not doing this for Ukraine, we are doing this for our friendly countries in Africa and Latin America. Because grain should go first … to the poorest countries in the world,” Putin said. 

“It was promised that our grain would not be subject to export restrictions,” he said. “But unfortunately, we were once again deceived. Nothing has been done in terms of liberalizing the supply of our grain to foreign markets.”

Putin claimed Europe is the largest importer of Ukrainian grain and this “seems to be the main source of foreign exchange earnings for Ukraine.”

Some more context: On May 17, an agreement was reached to extend the deal that allows grain to be exported from Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea, according to Turkish and Ukrainian officials.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the agreement between Ukraine and Russia, which was brokered by Turkey and the United Nations, would be extended for two months. The deal was originally signed last year and has since been extended.

After invading Ukraine in February 2022, Russia blockaded vital grain exports from key Ukrainian Black Sea ports, including Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Pivdennyi, which meant that millions of tons of Ukrainian grain were not being exported to the many countries that rely on it.

The impact of the war on global food markets was immediate and extremely painful, as Ukraine accounts for 10% of the world wheat market, 15% of the corn market, and 13% of the barley market.

Aid agencies from the United Nations say they are still awaiting the “necessary safety guarantees” to send support to Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine, a statement from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs said on Tuesday.

“The Russian Federation is yet to provide the safety guarantees we need to cross the front line to the left bank of the Dnipro River, including to Oleshky,” the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown said in a statement. 

Brown continued to say that the UN would continue to deliver assistance in the areas controlled by Ukraine and make “every effort” to reach those people who have been stranded by the floods and require “life-saving assistance, no matter where they are.”

Brown also condemned the overnight missile strikes that took place in Kryvyi Rih where at least ten people were killed saying that Russia’s invasion has “once again, claimed lives and brought suffering to the people of Ukraine.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that although Russian weapon quality is improving, the country lacks enough high-precision ammunition and drones. 

“Of course, in the course of the special military operation, it became clear that many things are missing: These are precision-guided munitions, communications equipment, aircraft, drones and so on. We (have) them, but, unfortunately, we do not have enough of them quantitatively,” Putin said at a meeting with war correspondents on Tuesday.

“Special military operation” is how Putin describes his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

He called for more “kamikaze” and Orlan-10 drones, saying their quality also should be improved.

He said Russia’s defense industry is growing. “And if there hadn’t been a special military operation, we probably would never have understood how to fine-tune our defense industry in order for our army to be the best in the world, but we will do it,” Putin said.

Putin said Tuesday that the way to stop the conflict in Ukraine is for the West to stop supplying weapons to Kyiv.

“And we understand that the key to solving problems is on their side [the West]. If they really want today’s conflict to end through negotiations, they only need to make one decision — to stop the supply of weapons and equipment. That’s it,” Putin said during the televised meeting with pro-Kremlin journalists.

A British-led defense alliance of several European countries announced a new $116 million package of air defense capabilities for Ukraine. 

The defense ministers from the Joint Expeditionary Force — which includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom — made the decision on Tuesday after a meeting. 

“The equipment, worth 92 million pounds ($116 million), will be procured in the coming months through the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU) to bolster Ukraine’s ability to protect its critical national infrastructure, civilian population, and front-line personnel,” the UK government said in a statement.

The package “will provide radars to help protect from indiscriminate Russian strikes as well as guns and a significant amount of ammunition,” it added.

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken separately announced a new $325 million security assistance for Ukraine on Tuesday.

The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said he is “very concerned” that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant could be caught up in Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russia.

The plant is very close to active fighting, “so we are worrying that there could be — I mean, obviously, mathematically — the possibilities of a hit,” International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said.

Speaking in Kyiv after a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, Grossi said that the IAEA is trying to “prevent something bad” and that it is still a “relatively dangerous situation.”

Zelensky said they discussed ways to “minimize risks and prevent incidents.” 

“The Head of State reiterated that the only way to prevent a nuclear incident at Zaporizhzhia NPP was its full demilitarisation, de-occupation and restoration of control over the plant by Ukraine,” according to a readout of the meeting from Zelensky’s office.

Ahead of his visit to the plant, the IAEA chief said that he will be at the facility for a few hours. There is a rotation of IAEA experts who are returning to Vienna and being replaced with a fresh group, he said. 

“We are enlarging the team, so we are trying to make our process as visible, as impactful as possible to avoid a nuclear accident,” he said.

On Sunday, the IAEA said it needed access to a location near the Zaporizhzhia plant to measure water levels at the Nova Kakhovka reservoir pumping position.

This is critical because the reservoir, which supplies cooling water to the nuclear plant and is crucial for its safety, lost a large portion of water after the dam collapsed last week. The IAEA said it will need to determine exactly how much water was lost.

Zelensky said he supported Grossi’s proposal to send a group of IAEA experts to assess the consequences of the explosion of the Kakhovka dam “and prepare proposals for specific areas of assistance to overcome them.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a new $325 million security assistance for Ukraine on Tuesday.

The latest package — the 40th presidential drawdown — includes “critical air defense capabilities, additional munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, artillery rounds, anti-tank weapons, armored vehicles, and other equipment essential to strengthening Ukraine’s forces on the battlefield,” Blinken said.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the US for the latest security assistance package in a tweet on Tuesday.

“Thank you @POTUS for another package of defense assistance,” he tweeted, “Weapons and military equipment worth $325 million is exactly what the [Ukrainian] Defense Forces need today. We appreciate the unwavering support of the friendly [American] people. And effective assistance in liberating the territories temporarily occupied by the Russian aggressor. Together we will restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity, preserve its independence and protect its democracy.”

There is no need to introduce martial law or additional mobilization of Russian troops for now, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday. 

“It depends on the purpose. Our troops were at Kyiv. Do we need to go back there or not?” Putin said in a meeting with Russian military bloggers and war correspondents at the Kremlin. “The reason I am asking such a rhetorical question, it is clear that there is no answer to it. I can only answer it myself. But depending on what goals we set for ourselves, we must decide on the issue of mobilization. Well, there is no such need today.”

The Russian president said about 156,000 troops have been added since January, which includes contract servicemen who were recruited and others who volunteered.

He also said that while the work of law enforcement and special services needed improvement, there is no need to introduce martial law throughout Russia.

A “digital information manipulation campaign” is spreading disinformation about the war in Ukraine across a network of social media, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.

The campaign uses fake internet pages mimicking media and government sites and hundreds of fake web URLs on social media — shared by official Russian state accounts — to spread disinformation about the war, according to a report by France’s Surveillance and Protection against Foreign Digital Interference Service (VIGINUM), the ministry said.

The campaign’s principal goal is to use “false and underhand tactics” to discredit Western policies on topics related to the war, including arms, refugees, and sanctions, the VIGINUM report said.

Here’s a snapshot of the report’s findings:

The report links several Russian citizens, who it says were responsible for setting up the fake URLs, to the campaign. It added that the campaign remains active despite its prior exposure and measures taken by Meta and Twitter. 

Russian missiles hit the central city of Kryvyi Rih early Tuesday, killing at least 11 people, according to Ukrainian authorities.

The overnight missile attack by Russia struck an apartment building in the city, according to Ukrainian authorities.

“The search and rescue operation has been completed. The dismantling of the structures is underway,” said Serhii Lysak, head of Dnipropetrovsk region military administration.

Here are more of the latest headlines:

Here’s the latest map of control:

The Russian Ministry of Defense on Tuesday claimed to have repelled Ukrainian attacks near the southern Donetsk villages of Rivnopil, Makarivka and Prechystivka. 

The villages are close to the border of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, where both Russia and Ukraine have reported clashes. 

“Over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian troops continued to attempt to carry out an offensive in South Donetsk direction,” according to the Russian ministry’s daily briefing on Tuesday.

“Three attacks by Ukrainian units reinforced with tanks and armored fighting vehicles were repelled in the area of Makarivka,” it said.

The contested village is reported to have changed hands several times.

Two attacks near Rivnopil and another attack near Prechystivka were also repelled, the Russian ministry said.

CNN cannot independently verify battlefield reports.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials say fighting is happening Tuesday in the regions’ villages of Mala Tokmachka, Novodanylivka, Mariinka, Yahidne and Vesele. 

Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Hanna Maliar said Ukrainian troops have made advances in three directions in the past day.

An 11th person has died after an overnight missile attack by Russia on an apartment building in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Officials said a body was pulled from the rubble by emergency crews.

“The search and rescue operation has been completed. The dismantling of the structures is underway,” said Serhii Lysak, head of Dnipropetrovsk region military administration.

Further south, in the Kherson region: Russian strikes hit the grounds of a church, killing a 72-year-old priest. A 76-year-old woman was also injured in the same attack, according to Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential office.

“Russian strikes damaged four residential buildings, the post office, administrative buildings, the central square and critical infrastructure facilities” in the village of Bilozerka, he added.

Elsewhere: Russian shelling hit Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy and Kharkiv regions, the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a statement.

In the southern Zaporizhzhia region, three bombs hit the town of Orikhiv, killing one civilian and destroying homes, it added. 

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 10 of 14 cruise missiles fired by Russia in deadly strikes overnight, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Tuesday.

The United Nations said Tuesday that last week’s dam breach on the Dnipro River in Ukraine will have a “huge impact on global food security,” with food prices likely to increase due to problems with the next harvest in the area.

The Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine collapsed June 6, forcing more than 1,400 people to flee their homes and threatening vital water supplies as flooding inundated the region. 

UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said in an interview with BBC Radio 4 that food prices are “bound to increase” following the dam collapse. 

“This is a breadbasket, that whole area, down going towards the Black Sea, Crimea, that is a breadbasket — not just for Ukraine but for the world. And it is almost inevitable that we’re going to see huge, huge problems in harvesting and in sowing for the next harvest,” said Griffiths, who leads the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). “What we’re going to see almost inevitably, but still not clearly calculated, is a huge impact on global food security.”

The critical dam is the largest reservoir in Ukraine in terms of volume. It’s the last of the cascade of six Soviet-era dams on the Dnipro River, a major waterway running through southeastern Ukraine.

Griffiths added that there will also be a “drinking water problem,” given that 700,000 people depended on the reservoir. “Bad water” leaves people in the region vulnerable to disease, with children particularly at risk, according to Griffiths. 

“Damage of this scale to a civilian infrastructure — and I’ve said that, as you know, publicly — is completely contrary to international humanitarian law,” Griffiths told the BBC. “That’s self-evident. Whoever did it has breached the Geneva Conventions.”

Kyiv and Moscow have traded accusations over the Russian-occupied dam’s destruction, without providing concrete proof that the other is culpable. It is not yet clear whether the dam was deliberately attacked or whether the breach was the result of structural failure.

Previous reporting from Mariya Knight, Olga Voitovych, Jo Shelley and other CNN staff

Ukraine has not come close to exhausting its capacity to fight Russia, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an interview with Danish media on Tuesday.

“Any offensive must be evaluated, as well as its results, after the enemy’s offensive potential has been exhausted. As far as I understand, Ukraine’s offensive potential is far, far from exhausted,” he said.

The boss of Russian private military company also said he doesn’t know if his force will remain in Ukraine amid a dispute with Russia’s Defense Ministry over contracts.

It comes after the Russian Ministry of Defense announced Saturday that “volunteer units” and private military groups would be required to sign a contract with the ministry, which would “give the voluntary formations the necessary legal status” and create “unified approaches” to their work.

The order did not name the Wagner group, but the move is seen a way of controlling the influential military force. Prigozhin – who has publicly feuded with defense leaders – said the move did not apply to Wagner.

Ukraine is claiming that it has gained ground from Russia in the southern Zaporizhzhia region as fierce fighting continues there and in the eastern Donetsk region. 

“Ukrainian Defense forces continue the defense operation in the Bakhmut direction. Our soldiers are advancing, the enemy is losing ground on the flanks,” Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ukrainian Land Forces, said Tuesday. 

Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Hanna Maliar said Ukrainian troops have made advances in three directions in the past day: “In the Bakhmut direction in the area of Berkhivka reservoir - by 250 meters (about .2 miles); in the Toretsk direction - by 200 meters (about .1 mile); and in the Berdiansk direction, it now controls 3 square kilometers (about 1.2 square miles).”

“The enemy is doing everything to hold the positions it has captured. It is actively using attack and army aircraft, and is conducting intense artillery fire. During the offensive, our troops face continuous minefields combined with anti-tank ditches. All of this is combined with constant counterattacks by enemy units on armored vehicles and the massive use of ATGMs (anti-tank guided missiles) and kamikaze drones,” she said Tuesday.

Fighting between Russian and Ukrainian armed forces is ongoing near the contested village of Makarivka, which is reported to have changed hands several times now. Ukrainian officials say fighting is happening Tuesday in the villages of Mala Tokmachka, Novodanylivka, Mariinka, Yahidne and Vesele. 

CNN cannot independently verify battlefield information.

Water levels are gradually receding after the Nova Kakhovka dam collapse caused flooding across the southern Kherson region, but some settlements are still under water, according to Ukrainian officials. 

Up to 42 people are still missing after the dam collapsed eight days ago, and 10 are now known to have died on the Ukrainian-controlled side, the head of Kherson region military administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, said Tuesday. 

Russia currently controls the east bank of Dnipro River near the dam site, but the number of dead in those areas is unclear.

“As of this morning, the average level of flooding is 2.7 meters (8.9 feet), which is 27 centimetres (10.6 inches) less than last night,” Prokudin said in a statement posted to Telegram. 

On the Ukrainian-held west bank of the Dnipro River, 3,600 houses in 31 settlements remain flooded, but over the past day, water has receded from 200 houses. 

Ukrainian rescue workers have managed to rescue 2,757 people from the flooded settlements, including “263 children and 77 people with limited mobility,” Prokudin said.

The Russian-occupied east bank, however, “remains extremely critical,” with 17 settlements still flooded, added Prokudin.

“Russia is in no hurry to rescue people from any of them, who are in mortal danger because of them. We are doing everything we can to save our people from there,” he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has blamed Moscow for the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam and said Russia should bear “criminal liability” for “ecocide.”

What Russia says: Moscow said that nine people were killed in large-scale flooding following the dam breach, according to state media TASS.

Russia claimed that two people were killed by shelling of an evacuation point.

“According to the latest data, 86 people were injured, 84 of them were hospitalized, the rest were released for outpatient treatment,” TASS quoted a spokesperson for the emergency services as saying.

Kyiv could force Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine if its counteroffensive against Russian forces is successful, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

Speaking at a Washington news conference Monday alongside the Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Blinken told reporters that “Ukraine’s success in the counteroffensive would do two things.”

“It would strengthen its position at any negotiating table that emerges, and it may have the effect, as well, of actually causing Putin to finally focus on negotiating an end to the war that he started,” Blinken said.

“In that sense, it can actually bring peace closer, not put it further away,” Blinken said.

Ukraine has repeatedly said that a prerequisite for any peace talks with Russia would be the withdrawal of Moscow’s troops from Ukrainian territory, a demand the West has backed.

Kyiv have made some gains on the battlefield in recent days as its counteroffensive appears to be underway, according to Ukrainian officials and Russian accounts.

At least 10 people were killed and 28 people injured in overnight Russian strikes on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, according to city officials.

Rescue workers are still trying to reach one person trapped under the rubble of a residential building hit by a missile.

Earlier, authorities said rescue operations were taking place at a five-story apartment building that caught fire and at a warehouse hit in the strikes.

A day of mourning for the victims has been declared on Wednesday. 

Moscow-backed officials and military bloggers have detailed clashes south of the town of Velyka Novosilka along both sides of the Mokri Yaly River, where Ukrainian forces have made gains in recent days.

Ukraine on Saturday seized several small villages along the river, according to geolocated video. And on Sunday, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar said Kyiv’s advances in the area amount to between 5 and 10 kilometers (3 to 6 miles). 

Late Monday, a senior Russia-appointed official, Vladimir Rogov, conceded that Ukrainian forces were “holding their positions on the northern and eastern outskirts of the village” of Urozhaine.

Russian forces are meanwhile trying to repel Ukraine’s breakthrough with counterattacks, according to the unofficial Russian Telegram channel, Operatsiya Z.

The channel said Monday that Ukrainian forces were trying to take higher ground to “create conditions for advancing,” and assessed that their aim was to advance toward the Russian-occupied hub of Staromlynivka.

Read more about the state of play on the battlefield here.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 10 of 14 cruise missiles fired by Russia in deadly strikes overnight, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Tuesday.

Air defenses also intercepted one of four Iran-made Shahed drones launched by Russia, officials said.

In the central city of Kryvyi Rih, at least six people were killed, dozens were wounded and rescue teams were working to free people still trapped under the rubble.

“One apartment building, a warehouse with food. […] We are currently dismantling the rubble and extinguishing the fire. Many people lost their apartments. We are now engaged in resettlement,” said Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the Kryvyi Rih city military administration, on Telegram.

More Russian attacks: Elsewhere, Russian shelling hit Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy and Kharkiv regions, the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a statement.

In the southern Zaporizhzhia region, three bombs hit the town of Orikhiv, killing one civilian and destroying homes, it added. 

Russian military bloggers claimed Monday that Ukrainian efforts to advance south of Orikhiv have been resisted and geolocated video appears to show Ukrainian armor losses in this area.

At least six people have now been confirmed dead after Russian missile strikes hit the city of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine overnight, as rescue teams work to free people still trapped under the rubble, Ukrainian officials said.

Vilkul said earlier that at least three people had died, dozens of others were wounded and rescuers were working to free at least seven people trapped in the rubble.

Their exact location remains unclear; rescue operations were taking place at a five-story apartment building that caught fire and at a warehouse hit in the strikes, authorities said.

“Three of the victims work at a private enterprise. They were hospitalized. There are probably people under the rubble of the destroyed warehouse, and rescuers are looking for them,” Serhii Lysak, head of the Dnipropetrovsk region military administration, said in a Telegram post earlier Tuesday.

Air defenses shot down three cruise missiles over the city but there were also “incomings,” that hit civilian infrastructure, Lysak said earlier.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned the attacks and offered condolences to the victims.

At least three people were killed and 25 others wounded after Russian missile attacks on central Ukraine’s Kryvyi Rih early Tuesday, according to Ukrainian officials.

Serhii Lysak, head of the Dnipropetrovsk region military administration, said on Telegram that air defenses shot down three cruise missiles over the city but there were also “incomings.”

“Civilian facilities were damaged,” he said, adding that 19 of the wounded were hospitalized.

“There was a massive missile attack on Kryvyi Rih. The Russians carried out another terrorist attack on the residential sector — overnight. This was insidious. Cruel,” Lysak said earlier on Telegram. 

Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said earlier that a five-story apartment building was hit and victims were likely trapped under the rubble.

“Apartments from the first to the fifth floors are on fire. The fire has covered 700 square meters. Rescuers are extinguishing it,” the mayor said in an update.

Four people were also injured at another location in the city where a building and a car had caught fire, he added.

The mayor also reported Russian shelling of the nearby Nikopol district overnight.

Zelensky on attacks: In a Telegram post, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offered his condolences to the victims.

“More terrorist missiles, Russian killers continue their war against residential buildings, ordinary cities, and people,” he said. “Unfortunately, there are dead and wounded. The rescue operation in Kryvyi Rih continues. My condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones! Terrorists will never be forgiven, and they will be held accountable for every missile they launch.”

Russian strikes hit Ukraine’s Kryvyi Rih early Tuesday, leaving victims in “extremely critical condition,” the mayor said. Meanwhile, Kyiv’s air defenses shot down all Russian missiles launched at the capital, officials said.

The latest Russian airstrikes come after both Russian and Ukrainian forces reported intense clashes on the battlefield Monday. Ukrainian forces have recaptured seven villages within the last week, according to Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar.

Here are the latest developments in the war:

Ukraine’s air defenses shot down all missiles launched by Russia at Kyiv early Tuesday, according to initial reports cited by a senior Ukrainian military official.

Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, said Russia launched an unspecified number of X-101/555 cruise missiles at Ukraine’s capital from Tu-95MS strategic bombers over the Caspian Sea.

No casualties or damage have yet been reported following the attack, he added.

Earlier Tuesday, the administration warned residents in the Kyiv region to take immediate precautions due to missile danger.

“High precision” Russian strikes hit central Ukraine’s Kryvyi Rih early Tuesday, leaving civilian victims in “extremely critical condition,” the city’s mayor said.

Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said on Telegram that “high-precision monsters” struck several civilian targets in various parts of the city, including a five-story residential building.

Some victims were likely still under the rubble, he said, adding that response teams were working at the scene.

Russia-backed officials and military bloggers are reporting intense fighting along the border of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, in an area where Ukrainian forces have made gains in recent days. 

The fighting is taking place south of the town of Velyka Novosilka along both sides of the Mokri Yaly river, an area where the Ukrainians appear to have had greater success than elsewhere in the initial stages of their counteroffensive. 

Late Monday, a senior Moscow-appointed official, Vladimir Rogov, spoke of heavy fighting in an area known as the Vremivka ridge, claiming that higher ground remained under Russian control. 

Rogov, a member of the Russian-installed Zaporizhzhia administration, said on Telegram that Russian attack helicopters were in action, and that “reciprocal shelling and heavy fighting of ultra-high intensity continues” in the vicinity of the village of Urozhaine.

Rogov conceded that Ukrainian forces were “holding their positions on the northern and eastern outskirts of the village.” 

He also claimed that in the nearby village of Makarivka, “the enemy has already been driven out by the quick and effective counterattack of the 127th Division,” although other accounts paint a gloomier picture for Russian forces around Makarivka.

Rogov said heavy fighting about 10 kilometers to the west had turned the area into a “gray zone,” but that Ukrainian units had dispersed from the area — around the village of Levadne. 

Bloggers’ reports: Russian military bloggers have also been reporting intense combat in the area, with one Telegram channel (Our Donetsk) saying “the enemy managed to deepen and advance through the wooded areas, threatening with further advance to encircle” nearby Russian units. 

There is no way to verify these unofficial reports, but they are consistent with a pattern in the fighting that has evolved in the last week. 

“Our Donetsk” acknowledged that Russian troops had been forced to abandon Neskuchne — just south of Velyka Novosilka — for a second time, “retreating to positions where they would not be encircled.” 

It said the Ukrainians were “accumulating forces” in the area, and heavy fighting continued. 

Also late on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky commented on the fighting in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia border region, saying “the enemy’s losses are exactly what we need.” 

By contrast, Russian military bloggers are claiming that Ukrainian efforts to advance south of Orikhiv, in another part of the southern front, have been resisted, with several saying the Ukrainians had lost a significant number of de-mining tanks in an area known to have been heavily fortified by the Russians with minefields and tank traps. 

Geolocated video appears to show Ukrainian armor losses in this area. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Monday that fighting is tough but Ukrainian forces are “moving forward” and recapturing territory.  

“The battles are fierce, but we are moving forward, and this is very important. The enemy’s losses are exactly what we need,” Zelensky said. “Although the weather is unfavorable these days — the rains make our task more difficult — the strength of our warriors still yields results, and I thank everyone who is in combat now, everyone who supports our combat brigades in the relevant areas.”

Zelensky also said “the most important and hottest” operational areas are in the Tavria and the Khortytsia directions in southern Ukraine, and he received reports from the commanders in those areas during his staff meeting on Monday. 

The commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces and the general of the Tavria operational-strategic group reported “on the success we have achieved, on the front areas where we need to reinforce and on the actions we can take to break more Russian positions,” Zelensky said. 

“We are maintaining and strengthening our operational dominance,” Zelensky said. “I am particularly grateful for Bakhmut as we are increasing our control in this area.”

Some more context: Earlier on Monday, Ukraine’s Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said that within the past week, Ukrainian forces in the Bakhmut area recaptured 16 square kilometers. On the left flank in Bakhmut, Ukrainian troops advanced 1.5 kilometers, and on the right flank, they advanced 3.5 kilometers, according to Maliar.

“This week, as always, will be very meaningful,” Zelensky added in his address. “First, we are preparing new weapons support from our partners for our warriors. Second, we are preparing to involve more global actors in the implementation of the Peace Formula. Third, we are working to make the [NATO] Vilnius Summit truly meaningful.”

Ukraine’s “ultimate goal of the counteroffensive campaign is to win back all the territories, including Crimea,” the chief diplomatic adviser to President Volodomyr Zelensky said Monday.

During an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, adviser Igor Zhovkva said some counteroffensive actions were underway, but would not give details. 

He also sought to tamp down any expectations the campaign would achieve rapid results, saying it could take many months for Ukraine to achieve its aims. 

In the same vein, he reminded Amanpour this was not Ukraine’s first counteroffensive — a reference to the Ukrainian army’s successful advances in September and October when Russian forces were pushed out of the Kharkiv region and the northern part of the Kherson region. 

The current push would “probably would not be the last counteroffensive operation,” he said. 

He also said that if Ukraine was going to be successful it needed Western partners to supply more artillery and ammunition. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin made a visit to the central Ministry of Defense Hospital in Moscow on Monday and told wounded soldiers their country needed them.

Putin visited the hospital as one of several public appearances to mark Russia Day.

He bestowed state awards on fighters wounded in Ukraine and said he understood the conflict is “not some movie, it’s all happening in reality.”

Putin told soldiers, “There’s no doubt that your country, your homeland, and the Armed Forces need people like you,” urging them to continue their military service once they recover.

Putin’s visit to soldiers comes amid Ukraine’s defense officials claiming to have recaptured several settlements in the Donetsk region.

Speaking earlier at an event to mark Russia Day, Putin said the country was experiencing “a difficult time.”

The collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine last week was the “largest catastrophe by Russian invaders” since the war began, Ukraine’s Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strilets told CNN on Monday.

“The blowing up of the Nova Kakhovka dam is the largest catastrophe by Russian invaders since the full-scale invasion began in February last year,” Strilets told CNN’s Becky Anderson in an interview on Connect the World. 

Nearly one week after the collapse of the dam, evacuation efforts in the southern city of Kherson continue, despite receding water levels. 

The minister said the Dnipro River, where the dam is located, is one of the largest rivers in Europe. Due to the dam breach, he says the river’s reservoir has already lost 72% of its water. 

“Russia has wasted 18 cubic kilometers of freshwater — this amount of water is enough for the entire planet to consume for two days,” he said. 

Ukrainian authorities have warned that the debris washed along the Dnipro River is turning Odesa’s Black Sea coastline into “a garbage dump and animal cemetery”. 

Ukraine’s Environment Minister echoed those concerns, saying that about 20,000 wild animals that lived in the flooded areas have died.

“We also understand the impact on climate change is that over 50,000 hectares of Ukrainian forest have been flooded, and at least half of them will die.”