🔴 LIVE: Russia conducts airstrikes on cities throughout Ukraine

Ukrainian officers and media stated Russia unleashed an enormous missile barrage on cities throughout Ukraine early Thursday morning, focusing on vitality infrastructure amenities. Comply with our reside weblog for the newest developments concerning the warfare in Ukraine. All instances are in Paris time (GMT+1).

03:56 a.m.: Russian missiles focused cities throughout Ukraine, officers stated Sirens sounded throughout Ukraine Thursday morning as Russia launched airstrikes on a number of cities.

The governor of the northeastern Kharkiv area, Oleh Sinyhopov, reported greater than 15 raids on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest metropolis.

“Essential infrastructure objects are as soon as once more within the crosshairs of their occupants,” he stated in a put up on Telegram.

The governor of the Southern Odessa area, Maxim Marchenko, reported strikes on Odessa, saying that vitality amenities and residential buildings have been bombed.

Explosions have been additionally reported in cities within the Dnieper, Lutsk and Rivne areas.

10:01 p.m.: US Home Speaker declines Zelensky’s invitation to go to Ukraine US Home Speaker Kevin McCarthy stated he has no plans to go to Ukraine after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky prolonged an invite, CNN reported Wednesday.

In an interview with CNN set to air Wednesday, Zelensky requested McCarthy, a Republican, to see carefully the scenario in Ukraine.

McCarthy, he ought to come right here to see how we’re doing, what is going on on right here […] Subsequent, make your assumptions, Zelensky stated in an interview with CNN.

America has supplied almost $32 billion in support to Ukraine because the invasion of Russian forces on February 24, 2022, however just some

Republicans held again from sending extra.

Requested about Zelensky’s name, McCarthy informed CNN he didn’t must journey to the nation and would get info in different methods.

“I’ll proceed to have my briefings and others, however I haven’t got to go to Ukraine or Kiev to see them,” he informed the tv community.

9:02 pm: Zelensky requires “democratic success” in Georgia amid protests Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday referred to as for “democratic success” in Georgia as 1000’s of demonstrators rallied in opposition to a controversial “international agent” invoice paying homage to Russian laws used to silence critics .

“There isn’t a Ukrainian who wouldn’t want success to pleasant Georgia. Democratic success. European success,” Zelensky stated in his night tackle to the nation.

7:21 pm: Germany warns over reviews of Nord Stream pipeline assault Germany’s protection minister expressed warning Wednesday over media reviews {that a} pro-Ukrainian group was concerned within the bombing of the Nord Stream gasoline pipeline within the Baltic Sea final yr.

German each day Die Zeit and public broadcasters ARD and SWR reported on Tuesday that investigators have largely managed to reconstruct how pipelines from Russia to Germany have been sabotaged on the night time of September 26, 2022.

Citing a number of unnamed officers, the media reported that 5 males and a lady used a yacht chartered by a Ukrainian-owned firm in Poland to hold out the assault. Federal prosecutors in Germany confirmed {that a} dinghy was searched in January.

The New York Instances additionally reported on Tuesday that US officers have reviewed intelligence that indicated a pro-Ukrainian group was behind the bombings. The Ukrainian authorities denied any position.

German Protection Minister Boris Pistorius stated he had learn the information reviews “with nice curiosity” however cautioned in opposition to drawing hasty conclusions.

“We have to clearly differentiate whether or not a Ukrainian group acted on orders from Ukraine or … with out the data of the federal government,” he informed reporters in Stockholm.

5:38 PM: Russia will not make main beneficial properties in Ukraine in 2023 The US intelligence chief says the Russian navy is probably going unable to maintain its present degree of combating in Ukraine, and doubtless will not seize considerably extra territory this yr, director US Nationwide Intelligence Company Avril Haines stated Wednesday.

After main setbacks and losses on the battlefield, Haines stated at a Senate listening to, “We do not anticipate the Russian navy to recuperate sufficient this yr to make vital territorial beneficial properties.”

Nevertheless, Haines stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin “most likely thinks time is on his facet.”

She stated Putin possible believes that prolonging the warfare, with intermittent pauses within the combating, “could also be his finest remaining path to finally securing Russian strategic pursuits in Ukraine, even when it takes years.”

© France Médias Monde Graphic studio (France 24 with AFP, Related Press and Reuters)