Extract from ABC News
Russia has struck Ukraine more than 40,500 times since its invasion of the country last February, Ukraine's Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko says.
Key points:
- Ukraine's interior minister says 66,300 criminal proceedings were registered regarding the war crimes committed by the Russian military
- Russia has listed the World Wildlife Fund as a foreign agent
- A Ukrainian commander says Western tanks will significantly change the war tactics in Ukraine
Speaking on national television on Saturday (local time), Mr Klymenko did not define what constituted a "strike", but said about 152,000 residential buildings and 400,000 public infrastructure facilities were destroyed in the attacks.
He said extra security and defence measures were being put in place across Ukraine to protect critical infrastructure and residential areas from another potential countrywide Russian attack.
"I can say that we are always ready for the so-called 'retaliatory strikes' when the enemy insidiously destroys not only critical infrastructure facilities but also residential buildings," Mr Klymenko said.
He added that 66,300 criminal proceedings were registered regarding the war crimes committed by the Russian military.
On Thursday, Russia launched a barrage of more than 80 missiles as well as exploding drones killing at least nine people and leaving hundreds of thousands without heat or electricity.
Among the weapons were six hypersonic Kinzhal cruise missiles, which Ukraine said its air defences could not intercept.
On Saturday, Russian shelling killed three civilians in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, denouncing what he called "brutal terrorist attacks" by pro-Moscow units.
Ukraine recaptured Kherson in November after nearly eight months of occupation by Russian forces who seized it soon after the start of the large-scale invasion.
The area is now under almost constant bombardment from Russian forces on the opposite side of the Dnipro River.
One more person died in the eastern Donetsk region, regional officials said.
Mr Zelenskyy said the three people killed in Kherson had gone to a store to buy groceries.
Kherson regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said three people, including an elderly woman, were also wounded during the artillery shelling of the city.
Russia lists World Wildlife Fund as foreign agent
Russia listed the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as a foreign agent after the justice ministry accused the Washington-based conservation group of trying to influence the decisions of Russian authorities under the guise of protecting nature.
The WWF said it would challenge the decision in court, and would continue trying to preserve rare animal species found in Russia.
It joins a growing number of western-based organisations and individuals designated as anti-Russian, which has been increasing since Moscow invaded Ukraine last year.
Russian law requires individuals and organisations that are determined to have received foreign funding and to have engaged in loosely defined "political activity" to identify themselves as "foreign agents".
The label brings additional government scrutiny. It also carries a strong pejorative connotation in Russia. Authorities have used the law to discredit those listed and to stifle dissent.
The WWF is a conservation group with projects throughout the world, including in Russia.
Explaining the decision in Moscow, the Russian justice ministry said the organisation had "tried to influence the decisions of the executive and legislative authorities" and "hindered the implementation of industrial and infrastructure projects".
Russia lost hundreds in Bakhmut in a day: Ukraine
More than 500 Russian troops were killed or wounded in a recent 24-hour period during the battle for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, a Ukrainian military spokesman said on Saturday.
Pro-Moscow forces have been fighting for months to take Bakhmut, in the eastern Donbas region. Both sides admit to significant losses and the exact numbers are difficult to verify.
Serhiy Cherevaty, a military spokesperson for forces in the east, said the Russians had launched 16 attacks over a 24-hour period, with 23 clashes taking place in Bakhmut.
"Over the course of the fighting, 221 enemies were killed and 314 sustained injuries of various degrees," he told the national parliament's television channel.
It was not clear from Cherevaty's comments whether he was referring to casualties sustained on Friday or over the most recent 24 hour period.
Reuters was not able to immediately verify the claim.
Russian gains in the city will be difficult to sustain without more significant personnel losses, British military officials said Saturday.
The UK defence ministry said in its latest assessment that paramilitary units from the Kremlin-controlled Wagner Group had seized most of eastern Bakhmut, with a river flowing through the city now marking the front line of the fighting.
Western tanks could change war tactics
Leonid Khoda, a seasoned Ukrainian tank brigade commander who received the Hero of Ukraine award, said the arrival of Western tanks would significantly change the war tactics in Ukraine.
Mr Khoda commands 1st Siversk Tank Brigade which is fighting in the south of Donetsk region.
He expects the deployment of Western tanks to give Ukraine significant advantages on the battlefield.
"[Western tanks] have higher firing range, other capabilities like digital information field. If this equipment is used properly, one can destroy the enemy before the enemy approaches its firing range," Mr Khoda said.
Kyiv has secured pledges from several Western nations to supply modern battlefield tanks to help fend off Russian forces.
Mr Khoda sees no other way for the war to end but with Russia's capitulation and paying reparations.
"So many people died: children, whole families, it is scary to imagine," he said.
"This cannot be compensated with money. This will never be forgotten. This will remain engraved in every Ukrainian conscience."
ABC/wires
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