The Russian Defense Ministry announced today that its forces have established control over the village of Piskunivka in Donetsk region, Reuters and TASS reported, quoted by BTA.
President Vladimir Putin was informed by the chief of the armed forces about the massive Russian night strike on Kiev, the Kremlin reported, adding that Moscow would continue to increase pressure on Ukraine to achieve its goals, Reuters reported.
Russia cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that Europe has embarked on the path of militarization and is devoting itself to confrontation with Moscow, added to the media the spokesman for the Russian president Dmitry Peskov, quoted by TASS.
He expressed confidence that the escalation from Europe towards Russia is growing.
"The fact that by asserting its defensive identity, the European Union has embarked on the path of militarization and is devoting itself to the topic of confrontation with Russia - this is also unambiguous. Of course, we cannot turn a blind eye to this", Peskov stressed.
This forces Moscow to plan additional measures to ensure its own security. "But there should be no doubt about one thing: the reliable security of Russia and its national interests will be guaranteed", Peskov stressed.
The number of victims in the massive night Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital has risen to at least 18 people, Ukrinform reported, citing a publication on "Telegram" of the prosecutor's office in Kiev.
"The number of people killed in Kiev as a result of the attack by the Russian Federation as of 12:40 p.m. local time (and Bulgarian time) has increased to 18 people," the prosecutor's office announced.
Earlier, the mayor of Kiev Vitali Klitschko reported at least 13 dead and 86 injured.
The capital Kiev was the main target of the night attacks. Ukrainian officials said Russia used attack drones, cruise missiles and other types of missiles in the attack, DPA noted.
In last night's attack, Russia fired 74 missiles and 496 drones at Ukraine, the Ukrainian Air Force said today, quoted by Reuters.
In a statement on Telegram, the Ukrainian Air Force said that air defenses had shot down or jammed the signals of 48 missiles and 476 drones, but 25 ballistic missiles and 12 drones had hit their targets in 33 places.
Several residential buildings in Kiev were destroyed, and rescue teams continue to search the rubble in search of more dead and injured.
In addition to Kiev, a Russian attack also damaged the terminal of a logistics company in the city of Zaporizhia in southeastern Ukraine, it noted Ukrinform.
"The smoke that Zaporizhia residents see is the result of an enemy attack on the city. The terminal of a logistics company has been damaged," the head of the Zaporizhia regional military administration Ivan Fedorov reported on "Telegram".
An air raid alert remains in effect throughout the city, and enemy drones can be heard in some areas.
A Russian drone attack on the city of Nikolaev in southern Ukraine injured three people and damaged five residential buildings, Ukrinform notes, citing a post on "Telegram" by the head of the Nikolaev regional military administration, Vitaly Kim.
"At the moment, it is known that three people were injured in an attack by "Shahed" drones on the city. "One man was hospitalized in critical condition, and two women received medical treatment at the scene," Kim said.
Several fires also broke out in the city.