KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian officials stated that two individuals, including a young boy, died in Russian artillery assaults on Saturday. Meanwhile, Russia claimed to have downed a Ukrainian fighter plane and eliminated a cluster of drones across various areas.
Russia is gaining momentum on the battlefield while Ukraine is running low on ammunition, prompting the attacks.
Western allies of Ukraine are cautiously discussing the possibility of sending troops. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski mentioned the potential deployment of NATO troops to Ukraine as a possibility on Friday. French President Emmanuel Macron also stated last month that the idea should be considered.
Serhiy Lysak, the governor of Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, reported that a 16-year-old boy was killed and a 22-year-old man was injured during a morning artillery strike in the town of Chervonohryhorivka. This town is located across the river from the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest, and is frequently targeted by Russian attacks.
In Chasiv Yar, one person was killed in artillery fire, according to authorities in the Donetsk region, where much of the area is under Russian control and has been the site of intense fighting during the three-year war.
The Russian Defense Ministry declared that its forces intercepted 41 drones launched over the Rostov region, bordering Ukraine and housing Russia’s southern military command. Additionally, the forces downed two drones in the Kursk region and three in Volgograd. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
The ministry also confirmed that the air force had brought down a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet over Pokrovsk, a significant railway junction in the Donetsk region, which is a prime target for Russia after Ukrainian forces withdrew from Avdiivka in February, marking a major setback for Ukraine’s struggling war efforts.
The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, bordering Ukraine, stated that Ukrainian drones attacked two villages near the border on Saturday, but no one was injured. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov did not specify the extent of the damage caused by the attacks.
Despite military setbacks, Ukraine rejects proposals for peace talks with Russia. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed willingness to host a peace summit between Russia and Ukraine during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday.
Zelenskyy stands firm on not directly engaging with Russia regarding peace negotiations and repeatedly emphasized that the initiation of peace talks should come from the country that has been invaded.
