KHERSON SHELLED, 18 KILLED
In Ukraine’s southern Kherson region on Wednesday, 18 civilians were killed and 46 injured in heavy Russian shelling that hit a hypermarket, a railway station and residential buildings, Ukrainian officials said.
At least 12 of those killed were in Kherson city, which has been repeatedly shelled from areas of Kherson province occupied by Russia. The dead included three engineers trying to repair damage to the power grid from earlier Russian bombardments.
“When the enemy can achieve nothing on the battlefield, it strikes at peaceful cities,” Ukrainian military spokesperson Serhii Cherevatyi said.
Elsewhere, oil depots were ablaze in southern Russia and Ukraine alike as both sides escalated a drone war ahead of Kyiv’s promised spring counteroffensive against Russian forces.
Ukraine said it had shot down 21 of 26 Iranian-made drones in an overnight volley.
Ukraine and Russia have both been carrying out long-range strikes since last week in apparent anticipation of a Ukrainian counteroffensive, which Zelenskyy said would begin soon, aided by supplies of sophisticated Western weaponry.
Moscow says it has struck military targets, though it has produced no evidence to support this. Kyiv, without confirming any role in incidents in Russia or Crimea, says destroying infrastructure is preparation for its planned ground assault.
Zelenskyy visited Finland on Wednesday, his fourth known trip abroad since Russia’s full-scale invasion. Leaders of Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden also attended his visit.
Zelenskyy said his goals were to beef up Ukraine’s military and secure an eventual place in the NATO alliance, a goal endorsed by the five Nordic nations in a statement.
Blinken said later the US government had authorised another US$300 million worth of arms and equipment for Ukraine.
