Latest Russia-Ukraine war news – The Washington Post

Air raid sirens blared early Thursday throughout Ukraine, including in the capital Kyiv, the Black Sea port of Odessa and the southern Mykolaiv region, Ukrainian officials said. On the previous day, Russian missile attacks on Kharkiv, the second-most populous Ukrainian city before the war, pulverized the campus of a university, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Here are updates from across the country:

Slovyansk: Russian forces are expected to launch an offensive against this eastern Ukrainian city, the governor of the neighboring Luhansk region, Serhiy Haidai, said late Wednesday on Telegram. His remarks align with an assessment by the British Defense Ministry that said the city could be the site of the next key battle in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. At least two people were killed and seven injured after Russian missiles struck a market and a residential area earlier this week.

Luhansk: Ukrainian fighters are clinging on to territory on the outskirts of Luhansk, the country’s easternmost region, Haidai said on Wednesday, days after Ukrainian troops retreated from Lysychansk, their last significant foothold in the area. Civilian evacuations are continuing daily, including by train, he said.

Toretsk: Russian rockets hit residential buildings in this eastern Ukrainian town, Pavlo Kyrylenko, the regional governor, said on Wednesday. Three people were trapped under the rubble after the structures were hit, he added. He urged residents of the Donetsk region to evacuate, saying the entire area was unsafe for civilians.

Karina Tsui contributed to this report.