Kiev [Ukraine], October 13: The Russian army has brought more than half of the long-contested city of Toretsk in eastern Ukraine under its control, a Ukrainian official said on Friday.
"Roughly 40 to 50% of the city is under the control of the Ukrainian armed forces. The rest of the city is occupied by the enemy," the head of the city's military administration, Vasyl Chynchyk, told Ukrainian television news.
A further Russian advance was prevented on Thursday, he said. Of the former population of over 30,000, around 1,150 people are still said to be holding out in the heavily destroyed city.
Russian troops already control several streets in the city centre.
There have also been Russian attacks on the neighbouring city of Chasiv Yar, which is almost 20 kilometres away.
Ukraine has been defending itself against the Russian invasion with Western help for more than two and a half years. Despite a Ukrainian advance into Russian territory in the Kursk region in August, Ukrainian troops in eastern Ukraine are increasingly under pressure.
According to Russian media, Russian troops have launched major counterattacks in the Kursk region and are once again in control of some towns. Russia had massively increased its forces there in order to bring the region completely back under Moscow's control.
Four killed in Russian missile strike on Ukraine's Odessa Four more people, including a 16-year-old girl, have died in the latest Russian attacks on the southern Ukrainian region of Odessa, authorities said on Friday.
A night-time missile strike on a house in Odessa city brought the number of civilians killed in the region since Wednesday to 13, the region's governor Oleh Kiper posted on the social network Telegram.
Ten people were injured, four of them seriously.
The Russian military has repeatedly attacked the Odessa region with missiles and drones. The port infrastructure in the Black Sea region is regularly affected, impacting exports of Ukrainian grain and other commodities overseas.
Ukraine to receive 1,000 combat drones from Lithuania The government in Vilnius has received the first 1,000 combat drones from five Lithuanian manufacturers, which are to be handed over to the Ukrainian armed forces, the Ministry of Defence said on Friday.
The drones are expected to be delivered to Ukraine in the coming weeks, the ministry said.
The delivery will also include additional accessories, launch and control equipment for the drones and training measures, the ministry said.
Lithuania has ordered over 7,000 combat drones from local manufacturers for a total of ?8 million ($8.8 million). Of these, roughly 2,300 are intended for its own army and almost 5,000 for the Ukrainian forces.
According to the Ministry of Defence, the drones are to be delivered by the end of this year. The purchase programme is also set to continue next year. With this, Lithuania aims to strengthen its own defence industry and the defensive capabilities of its military, it said.
Source: Qatar Tribune