Russia Ukraine War Live Updates: Russia claims to have captured key city of Lysychansk

Powerful explosions rocked the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv early on Saturday, the mayor said, a day after authorities said at least 21 people were killed when Russian missiles struck an apartment building near the Black Sea port of Odesa. Explosions flattened part of an apartment building while residents slept on Friday, the latest in a series of what Ukraine says are Russian missile attacks aimed at civilians.

In his nightly video address on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced the strikes as “conscious, deliberately targeted Russian terror and not some sort of error or a coincidental missile strike.” Kyiv says Moscow has intensified its long-range missile attacks, hitting civilian targets far from the frontline. Russia says it has been aiming at military sites. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov cited President Vladimir Putin’s statements “that the Russian Armed Forces do not work with civilian targets”.

In another development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday over the ongoing situation in Ukraine, reiterated India’s long-standing position favouring dialogue and diplomacy. Speaking over phone on the phone, the two leaders also discussed the state of global energy and food markets, PM Modi’s office said in a statement.