Russian forces gain control of towns in Donetsk, suffer heavy casualties in Zaporizhia attack

The Russian Defense Ministry announced that they had taken control of two towns in Donetsk and expelled Ukrainian militants from the left bank of Kherson province. At the same time, seven people were killed and 36 others were injured in a Russian strike on Zaporizhia.

On Sunday, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that their forces had gained control of Sborno and Novoaleksandrovka in Donetsk. They also mentioned shooting down 72 Ukrainian drones, intercepting 9 “Himars” missiles, and two “Neptune” missiles. The Ukrainian army reportedly suffered 1,750 deaths within 24 hours.

Vladimir Saldo, governor of the Russian Kherson region, stated that fighting was ongoing on the islands in the Kherson direction, where the Ukrainian army had been pushed back from the left bank of the region. He highlighted that the islands in the Kherson direction were a main contact point with the enemy, as the rest of the region had a natural border – the Dnieper River.

A day of mourning was declared in Zaporizhia following a Russian strike on Vilnyansk that resulted in seven deaths and 36 injuries. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that two missiles landed nearby in Zaporizhya, targeting weapons and military equipment being unloaded from Ukrainian trains. This resulted in casualties and destroyed armored vehicles and missiles.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continued to appeal to allies for more long-range weapons to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense systems. He emphasized the need to stop daily Russian attacks and called for destroying Russian missile launchers as well as increasing modern air defense systems in Ukraine.