Ukrainian officials believe the deadly strikes on an apartment block and a recreation center in the Odessa region were retaliation by Russia after it was forced to withdraw from strategically important Snake Island earlier this week. “The occupiers cannot win on the battlefield, so they resort to vile killing of civilians,” a Ukrainian security chief told reporters Friday. The Kremlin claimed that it only targets military infrastructure, despite abundant evidence to the contrary.
Ukraine is dispersing across the country materiel provided by its Western partners to avoid potentially heavy losses in the event of successful Russian strikes, U.S. officials say. The move has proved effective so far, even in the face of increased Russian attacks. The United States will also send more ammunition compatible with the advanced rocket launchers it has provided, which Ukrainian authorities say are having an impact on the battlefield.
In the east, Russia is focusing its war efforts on several industrial plants in Lysychansk, the last city in the Luhansk area where Kyiv still maintains a vestige of control. The Kremlin claims to have seized an oil refinery as well as a gelatin factory there, though Ukraine said it still maintains some control over both facilities.
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