Russia-Ukraine war: Russian strikes turn Bakhmut into 'burnt ruin', says Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian strikes had reduced the town of Bakhmut to ruins as the fighting in the region continues. Russian strikes across the rest of the country have also hit energy infrastructure and killed civilians as the war continues.

In his nightly video address Saturday, Zelenskyy said that the situation on the ground in Bakhmut was “very difficult” in the frontlines in the partially-occupied areas of Luhansk and Donetsk. Zelenskyy also cited the cities that are currently under heavy fire from Russian strikes; Bakhmut, Soledar, Maryinka, and Kreminna.

“Bakhmut, Soledar, Maryinka, Kreminna. For a long time, there is no living place left on the land of these areas that have not been damaged by shells or fire,” said Zelenskyy in his address. “The occupiers actually destroyed Bakhmut, another Donbas city that the Russian army turned into burned ruins.”

“After the night strike by Iranian drones, Odessa and other cities and villages of the region are in darkness,” added Zelenskyy, as over 1.5 million people had no power in the southern port city.

Also, on Saturday, the Ukrainian military reported air raids that happened in Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. The Ukrainian military’s General Staff said that around 20 Russian air raids and over 60 missile attacks hit targets across Ukraine between Friday and Saturday.

In a post on the Telegram messaging platform, the deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said two civilians were killed, and eight others were wounded from the rocket and artillery attacks that took place the day before. Tymoshenko added that residential areas, shops, warehouses, critical infrastructure, and a hospital were struck in Kherson.

Meanwhile, a team made up of legal advisers is assisting authorities in Ukraine’s reclaimed territory of Kherson as they start gathering evidence of sexual crimes committed by Russian forces in the reclaimed territory. The gathering of evidence is part of the prosecutor’s investigation into sexual crimes committed as they look to hold Russia accountable for such atrocities on the ground.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine back in February, reports of rape and other abuses have surfaced in Ukraine.