A Red Cross convoy travelling to the Ukrainian city of Mariupol will make another attempt to evacuate civilians from the besieged port on Saturday as Russian forces looked to be regrouping for new attacks in the southeast.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops on 24 February for what he calls a "special operation" to demilitarise Ukraine.
But the United States and its European allies have sent Ukraine military assistance, including an additional $300 million dollars in aid announced by the Pentagon late on Friday. The new aid includes laser-guided rocket and anti-drone systems.Citing a US official, the New York Times reported that the United States would work with allies to transfer Soviet-made tanks to Ukraine to bolster its defenses in the Donbas region.
After failing to capture a single major city, Russia has painted its draw-down of forces near Kyiv as a goodwill gesture in the peace negotiations. The fire destroyed several oil tanks and will likely add short-term strain to Russia's already stretched logistics chains, particularly operations in Kharkiv, Britain's defence ministry said.
Odesa's governor, Maksym Marchenko, said three missiles had hit a residential district, causing casualties. He said the missiles were fired from an Iskander missile system in Crimea, the southern Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.