Since the very beginning of Russiaʼs full-scale war against Ukraine, "Babel" has been running text online coverage every day and promptly informing about the main news on the Telegram channel. We also do a daily digest of the dayʼs highlights in case you werenʼt able to follow along live.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated Kupʼyansk-Vuzlovy, where a large railway junction is located. Oleh Snegubov, the head of the Kharkiv regional military administration, stated this on the air of the telethon. He emphasized that the liberation of the territories is now difficult because the Russians are trying to regroup and collect reinforcements. In total, the Defense Forces of Ukraine liberated and cleared 454 settlements from the enemy in the Kharkiv region. In addition, anti-aircraft missile units of the Southern Air Command destroyed four Shahed-136 kamikaze drones that attacked Odesa.
At night, the occupiers shelled Zaporizhzhia with ten S-300 missiles, some infrastructure objects were hit. Fires broke out at the sites of shelling, power lines were damaged. According to preliminary information, there are no victims. Mykolaiv was subjected to powerful shelling twice during the night, there are hits in different areas of the city. It is known about the damage to a number of civilian objects, particularly residential buildings and shops, as well as the water supply network. In addition, Russian troops massively shelled the Chuguyiv, Kupyan, Kharkiv, Izium, and Loziv districts of the Kharkiv region. There are dead.
Residents of Mariupol are receiving messages asking them to appear at the Military Commissariat. The occupiers justify these actions by the fact that, according to the results of the pseudo-referendum, Mariupol will become part of the Russian Federation.
The Russian occupiers forbade the residents of Enerhodar to leave the territory controlled by Ukraine and generally outside the city limits. The Russians apply special control to the operational shift workers of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Locals sit at home and try not to go out unless absolutely necessary. Russian military patrols walk the streets with questionnaires for voting in pseudo-referendums.
The US State Department sees no signs that China is helping Russia circumvent sanctions and wage war against Ukraine. State Department spokesman Ned Price said that the United States carefully studies each message. According to him, China has "certain concerns about what Russia is doing in Ukraine."
Minister of Foreign Affairs of France Catherine Colonna came to Kyiv. Together with her, investigators of the National Gendarmerie arrived, who will help investigate war crimes committed by Russians in Izium.
Preparations for the transfer of NASAMS air defense systems to Ukraine are ongoing. Ukraine expects two batteries from the United States — that is, 16 missile launchers. A single NASAMS battery will be able to protect entire squares or a region since each installation can be placed at a distance of up to 25 km. The mobile anti-aircraft battery consists of 8-12 launchers, depending on the modification, 3-8 AN/TPQ-64 radar stations, two fire control systems, charging and staff vehicles.