A crew of a small rocket ship off the Black Sea Fleet fired four Kalibr cruise missiles at a military facility belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the Black Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said. “As a result of an accurate strike, high-precision weapons destroyed a weapons and military equipment depot in the territory of the Zhytomyr region,” he said in a Facebook post with footage of the explosions. Another video released by the Ministry of Defense on Saturday allegedly showed an air raid on a Ukrainian Buk missile system carried out by an Iskander missile in the Kiev region – causing a huge explosion. Russia seemed to be limiting its ambitions in Ukraine to focus on consolidating control of the eastern regions, but the United Kingdom accepted that city bombing was likely to continue. Zelensky says his troops have dealt “severe blows” to Russia – live updates on Ukraine Russia has previously indicated far greater ambitions, but tough resistance from Ukrainian forces, logistical problems and allegedly low morale may have had an impact. Image: Map of the Russian invasion of Ukraine The working-class city of Chernobyl is “occupied” by Russian forces Vladimir Putin’s forces have taken control of the city of Slavutych, home to workers at the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Kyiv region governor Oleksandr Pavlyuk said on Saturday. Mr Pavlyuk wrote in an online post that Russian troops had taken over a hospital in Slavutych and abducted the mayor. The reports have not yet been verified. Image: Protest broke out in Slavutych However, Sky News verified a video found in Slavutych showing protesters gathered outside Slavutych City Hall as shots were fired. Yesterday, Ukraine said its troops had repulsed the first attack by Russian troops approaching the city. Chernihiv “surrounded by the enemy” The Ukrainian city of Chernihiv in the north of the country has been cut off by Russian forces, its governor said on Friday. “The city has been conditionally surrounded, operationally by the enemy,” Vyacheslav Chaus said, adding that it was being bombed by artillery and warplanes. Picture: Houses burning in a residential area in northeastern Chernihiv. Photo: Satellite Image © 2022 Maxar Technologies Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said earlier that Ukraine wanted to open a humanitarian corridor in Chernihiv on Saturday. Read more: Incredible lighthouse as families flee Ukraine’s most devastated city In the eastern city of Kharkiv, four people were killed Friday when Russian bombs struck a humanitarian clinic, regional police said. There is also growing evidence of mass graves in Mariupol – including one that appears to contain 200 bodies – said the head of the UN human rights group in Ukraine. Ten humanitarian corridors have been confirmed for today Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk announced on Saturday that 10 human corridors had been confirmed for the day across the country. It comes as Ukraine’s Prosecutor General ‘s Office announced that at least 136 children had died in the Russian invasion a month ago. Speaking on national television, he said civilians trying to leave the besieged port city of Mariupol would have to leave in private cars as Russian forces would not allow buses to pass through their checkpoints. Picture: People standing in a long line waiting to leave the southern port of Mariupol Ms Vereshchuk added that more than 100,000 people had to be evacuated from the city. On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again called on Russia to negotiate an end to the war, but said his country would not agree to hand over any of its territories for peace. Vladimir Putin’s forces are under great pressure in many parts of the country, as the US and other countries have accelerated the transfer of weapons and supplies to Ukraine. A recent briefing by the UK Department of Defense on Saturday stated that the long-term attack on Ukrainian cities showed no signs of abandonment – with more deaths and injuries inevitable. “Russia continues to besiege a number of major Ukrainian cities, including Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol,” he wrote on Twitter. The United States has also said that Russian forces no longer had full control of Kherson, the first city to fall since the invasion began. It’s another obvious impetus for Ukraine, which also claimed to have destroyed a Russian cruise ship near the coastal city of Berdyansk this week. Image: The remains of a tank in Mariupol. Photo: Maximilian Clarke “300 dead in attack on theater” Despite the counterattacks, the death toll is rising – and the council in the southern city of Mariupol said on Friday it believed about 300 people had been killed in a theater bombing last week. It would be the worst loss of life in a month’s war. Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 1:53 It was bombed inside the theater of Mariupol “Children” was written in large letters outside the theater – intended to be seen from above – in the hope of protecting the estimated 1,300 shelters inside, although the building remained under attack. The governor of Donetsk said Ukrainian forces were still in control of Mariupol – despite receiving relentless attacks for weeks. Pavlo Kyrylenko said about 65,000 people had fled in private vehicles or on foot, but efforts to facilitate mass evacuations had largely failed.
