Ukraine is bracing for a new onslaught by Russian forces in the country’s east, while still reeling from an attack on a railway station that killed at least 50 people on Friday.
Here’s the latest:
Zelensky expects ‘a firm, global response’ to Kramatorsk: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to hold to account everyone behind the missile strike on a railway station in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine.
At least 50 people, including five children, were killed at the station which was being used by civilians trying to flee the fighting, Ukrainian officials said Friday.
Russia accused of war crimes: International leaders including the European Parliament President Roberta Metsola say the missile strike in Kramatorsk and other attacks on civilians in Ukraine constitute war crimes.
Speaking to CNN on Friday, Metsola said the attacks were: “International war crimes being committed against sovereign people who are simply fighting for democracy and for their country.”
Ukraine expects huge new onslaught: The military governor of the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine said Russian forces are preparing for a “massive breakthrough” attempt in Donbas.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence said some of the Russian troops that have withdrawn from northern Ukraine will be transferred to eastern Ukraine to fight in Donbas but “many of the forces will require significant replenishment before being ready to deploy further east, with any mass redeployment from the north likely to take at least a week minimum.”
Ukrainian officials have urged residents of some cities in Donbas to evacuate in anticipation of what they say may be heavy fighting.
Rerouting evacuation corridors: The Ukrainian military said it was working to “adjust” routes for civilians following the strike in Kramatorsk.
Serhii Haidai, the military governor of Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region, said the attack meant changes were being made to the routes, but stressed that efforts to get people out of the region will continue: “We are ready, we will continue to evacuate people.”
Odesa under curfew: Authorities in the southern region of Odesa have imposed a curfew for Saturday following the deadly strike in Kramatorsk. Residents have been told to stay home from 9 p.m. local time on Friday until 6 a.m. on Sunday morning.
Russians still facing logistical issues: The US believes the Russian military has not solved “their logistics and sustainment problems,” a senior US defense official told CNN.
The official said those problems mean that they will be unlikely to be able to reinforce their forces in the eastern part of Ukraine “with any great speed.”
