Air attacks in Zaporizhzhia may signal Russia's determination to hold onto territory in Ukraine's south.
In the adjacent Luhansk province, which Russian and separatist forces have all but conquered, Ukrainian soldiers battled to retain control of two outlying villages as they came under Russian shelling, Gov. Serhiy Haidai said.Luhansk and Donetsk together make up the Donbas region, a mostly Russian-speaking region of steel factories, mines and other industries.
More ammunition depots were hit late Wednesday, regional officials said. The Russian news agency RIA Novosti, citing Russian-appointed officials in the occupied region, reported that Russian air defences had intercepted five incoming Ukrainian missiles. Social media posts showed large fiery explosions.
In the Russian attack on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, two cruise missiles hit a factory and wounded 14 people, Ukrainian officials said. The regional governor posted a photo showing the rubble. The UNIAN news agency said the factory management had evacuated the staff to bomb shelters, which it said may have saved their lives.
"Russian authorities must release those detained and allow Ukrainian citizens forcibly removed or coerced into leaving their country the ability to promptly and safely return home," Blinken said in a statement.Blinken said an estimated 900,000 to 1.6 million Ukrainian citizens — including 260,000 children — have been interrogated, detained and deported to Russia, with some sent to the country's far east.
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