Donetsk

Russia says it shot down 36 Ukrainian drones as fighting grinds on in Ukraine’s east

Russia’s Defense Ministry says its air defense shot down 36 Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula overnight Saturday.

Russian shelling hits a landmark church in the Ukrainian city of Kherson

Russian shelling has damaged a landmark church in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson that held the remains of Prince Grigory Potemkin until last year.

Russian missiles kill at least 6 in Zelenskyy’s hometown in central Ukraine

Ukrainian officials say Russian ballistic missiles have slammed into an apartment complex and a university building in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown.

Ukraine moves official Christmas Day holiday to Dec. 25, denouncing Russian-imposed traditions

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday signed a law moving the official Christmas Day holiday to Dec. 25 from Jan. 7, the day when the Russian Orthodox Church observes it.

The best photos from Europe and Africa, from war to Wimbledon

June 30 – July 6

Protests and riots spread across France over the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old driver, war continued in Ukraine with fighting around Bakhmut and the Donetsk region, and the official opening of the 2023 Running of the Bull San Fermín fiestas started in Pamplona, Spain.

Captured Ukrainian soldiers face trial in Russia

More than 20 Ukrainian soldiers who were taken prisoner during fighting in Ukraine are facing trial in southern Russia.

Russia steps up aerial strikes on Ukraine, killing at least 6 amid Kyiv counteroffensive

Ukrainian officials say Russian forces fired cruise missiles at the southern city of Odesa overnight and shelling has destroyed homes in the eastern Donetsk region.

Ukraine trying to end battlefield stalemate in what may be start of counteroffensive

Ukrainian forces are making a major effort to punch through Russian defensive lines in southeast Ukraine for a second day in what may be the start of a counteroffensive.

Scarred by war, Ukrainian children carry on after losing parents, homes and innocence

A generation of Ukrainian children have seen their lives upended by Russia’s invasion of their country.

US sending $325 million in more military aid to Ukraine

The U.S. is sending Ukraine about $325 million in additional military aid, including an enormous amount of artillery rounds and ammunition as the launch of the spring offensive against Russian forces approaches.

Putin, Zelenskyy rally troops with war poised for new phase

Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited the Kremlin’s forces fighting in Ukraine for the second time in two months.

In Ukrainian village, a family lives under cloud of shelling

BOHOYAVLENKA, Ukraine (AP) — In a small village in eastern Ukraine the sounds of war echo in the distance while 10-year old Khrystyna Ksenofontova plays.

Russia hits illegally annexed Ukraine areas from ground, air

Russian forces have bombarded the regions of Ukraine it has illegally annexed but doesn’t fully control, resulting in casualties, building damage and power outages.

Ukraine vows to hold on to Bakhmut despite Russian onslaught

Ukrainian troops are defending positions in Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine amid a relentless push by Russian forces to capture a city that has been turned into a wasteland by seven months of fighting.

Russian advance stalls in Ukraine’s Bakhmut, think tank says

A leading think tank says Russia’s advance seems to have stalled in Moscow’s campaign to capture the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

UK: Russian advance in Bakhmut could come with heavy losses

British military officials say Russian forces have made progress in their campaign to capture the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, the focus of the war’s longest ground battle.

Ukrainian firefighters on risky mission to save lives, homes

KOSTIANTYNIVKA, Ukraine (AP) — Thick grey smoke pours from the roof as the firefighters arrive at the brick house, one of several homes hit by Russian shelling in a residential neighborhood of Kostiantynivka.

Why Bakhmut has taken center stage in war in Ukraine

Bakhmut has been the focus of a Russian attacks for six months in the war’s longest and bloodiest battle.

The flowers of war: Ukraine smith turns guns, ammo into art

A blacksmith in the Russia-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine is practically beating swords into ploughshares, and turning one man’s trash into treasures.

Ukraine plant builds 6-person bunkers for war’s front lines

The pops of welding torches and the piercing whine of angle grinders fill the spacious production floor at a steel plant in central Ukraine.

Russian shelling hits Ukrainian town; Bakhmut battle rages

The governor of northern Ukraine’s Kharkiv province says Russian shelling has destroyed five homes and killed one person in a town about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Russian border.

International journalists federation suspends Russian union

The International Federation of Journalists has suspended with immediate effect the Russian Union of Journalists over its action since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its role in annexed Ukrainian territories.

Russia claims minor Ukraine progress; Kyiv readies offensive

Russian forces are claiming some battlefield success as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine labors to gain momentum almost a year after it began.

Hilltop coal-mining town a tactical prize in Ukraine war

The small coal-mining town of Vuhledar on Ukraine’s eastern front line has emerged as a critical hot spot in the fight for Donetsk province.

Ukraine defense minister expects help from West on warplanes

Ukraine’s defense minister is expressing confidence in securing Western allies’ agreement to his country’s latest weapons request, warplanes to fight off Russian forces that invaded nearly a year ago.

Ukraine: ‘Fast-track’ talks underway for missiles, planes

A top aide to Ukraine’s president says Kyiv and its Western allies are engaged in “fast-track” talks on the possibility of equipping the invaded country with long-range missiles and military aircraft.

Brutality of Russia’s Wagner gives it lead in Ukraine war

Fierce battles in eastern Ukraine have thrown a new spotlight on a private Russian military group led by a rogue millionaire with longtime links to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine forces pull back from Donbas town after onslaught

Ukrainian forces say they have conducted an organized retreat from a town in the eastern region of the Donbas, handing the Kremlin’s forces a rare but modest battlefield triumph after a series of setbacks in the invasion that began almost 11 months ago.

Ukrainian civilians vanish and languish in Russian-run jails

Many civilians have been detained by Russian forces since the war in Ukraine began. They are languishing in jails for months without charges as their relatives seek to find out what’s happened to them.

Shakhtar owner pledges $25M to Ukrainian soldiers, families

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Shakhtar Donetsk owner Rinat Akhmetov pledged Monday to give $25 million to help the families of soldiers who defended the city of Mariupol when it was attacked by the Russian military.