CGTN
TOP HEADLINES
• Russian forces launched a major airstrike against Ukraine in the early hours of Monday morning, with Kyiv’s air defense crews shooting down 15 of 18 missiles as air raid sirens blared across the country. At least 34 people were wounded and dozens of homes damaged.
• A Russian freight train was derailed after it was hit by explosive device just over the Ukrainian border in Bryansk region, according to the regional governor. There were no victims in the attack.
• Ukrainian shelling killed four civilians in a border village in the same Russian region over the weekend, according to local officials.
• Undermining Russia’s logistics is one of the key elements of preparation for Kyiv’s expected Spring counter-offensive, a Ukrainian military spokesperson said, following a drone strike on a fuel storage facility in the Russian-controlled Crimean port of Sevastopol. Ukraine did not claim responsibility for the attack.
• Kyiv’s forces say they are holding onto parts of the strategic city of Bakhmut, while the head of Russian-backed separatist group said his troops were making progress.
• Pope Francis has said the Vatican is involved in a peace mission to try to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, stating after a three-day visit to Hungary that he was willing to do everything that has to be done.
• French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke by phone on Sunday to discuss Ukraine’s military demands.
• Ukrainian judokas will not take part in this month’s world championships in Qatar after the International Judo Federation’s (IJF) decided to readmit Russians and Belarusians as neutrals, the Ukrainian Judo Federation has announced.
• Russia has promised a harsh response to what it said was Poland’s illegal seizure of its embassy school in Warsaw.
IN DETAIL
Major airstrikes, heavy shelling ahead of counteroffensive
Russia fired missiles at targets across Ukraine in its second major air strike in three days, setting a huge blaze in a southeastern district where officials said 34 people were wounded.
Kyiv said 15 of 18 cruise missiles were shot down, shielding the capital Kyiv and other major cities, but there were reports of widespread damage in Pavlohrad, a railway hub behind the southern and eastern fronts.
A Russian-installed official in occupied Zaporizhzhia region confirmed Russian forces had struck military targets there.
Mykola Lukashuk, head of the Dnipropetrovsk region council, said the attack had damaged 19 apartment blocks, 25 houses, three schools, three kindergartens and several shops.
The 34 wounded included three children, he said.
