IAccording to Ukrainian sources, Russian troops fired rockets at military targets near the city of Dnipro during the night. The Ukrainian general staff reports that the Russians are partially withdrawing from certain areas. At the same time, Russian units would continue to block the second largest city of Kharkiv and the city of Sumy, according to the situation report published on Friday night. At Izyum in the Kharkiv region, Russian troops were preparing for a new offensive. Moscow is partially managing to maintain the land connection between Russia’s Rostov region on the Ukrainian border and Russia’s annexed Crimea peninsula.
After the summit marathon of NATO, the EU and the group of seven leading democratic economic powers (G7) in Brussels, US President Joe Biden is visiting Poland this Friday. The EU countries set up a solidarity fund to provide financial support to Ukraine. This was decided by the heads of state and government on Friday night at a summit meeting in Brussels.
As a result of the Russian war of aggression, Ukraine is suffering enormous destruction and losses, it said in a statement. The country should be helped with current expenses, but also “after the end of the Russian attack in the reconstruction of a democratic Ukraine”. Like the US before it, the EU has officially accused Russia of committing war crimes in Ukraine.
A donor conference is to be organized to fill the Solidarity Fund for Ukraine with money. International partners are also invited to participate. EU Council President Charles Michel brought up the Solidarity Fund after a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week. Ukraine needs access to international liquidity to finance imports of daily necessities and military equipment, it said.
Rocket attacks near Dnipro
According to Ukrainian sources, Russian forces twice fired rockets at a military unit near the city of Dnipro on Friday night. The buildings of the Ukrainian unit were significantly damaged and two fires broke out, the regional military administration said on Facebook. Dnipro is located in the center of Ukraine and has so far been largely spared from attacks.
According to the Ukrainian general staff, some Russian troops have withdrawn in the north-east of the country after suffering heavy losses. Observe the withdrawal of certain Russian units behind the Russian border after losing more than half of the personnel. The information is not independently verifiable.
According to British intelligence, Ukrainian forces have begun attacking high-value targets in Russian-held territory. The destruction of a Russian landing ship in the port city of Berdyansk on Thursday was cited as an example.
The Ukrainian general staff announced on Facebook on Friday night that they had destroyed the Russian landing ship Saratov and damaged the landing ships Caesar Kunikov and Novocherkassk in the port occupied by Russians. The Ukrainian Navy had previously announced that it had destroyed the troop carrier “Orsk”. Fierce fighting also continued on land. Footage shared from the port on Friday showed a large Russian warship on fire. Other ships moved away from the inferno. Further Russian losses would still be “clarified”.
The Navy earlier on Thursday shared a close-up of the troop carrier Orsk and two long-distance shots of a ship on fire in Berdyansk port. It was not clear whether this was the “Orsk”.