Kremlin claims 25 people killed by Ukrainian artillery fire, US says Russian advances have “stalled”

Russian authorities believe that at least 25 people were killed by Ukrainian artillery fire on Friday, including a nine-year-old child.

Vladimir Saldo, appointed by Russia as governor of the occupied southern Kherson region, confirmed that 22 people were killed when rockets and bombs hit a crowded market in the small town of Sadove in Kherson.

It was not known how many people were injured in the attack.

A second Ukrainian attack on In Luhansk, three more people were killed and 35 were injured.

Friday’s offensive followed a Russian drone attack on Thursday night that destroyed a shopping mall.

No casualties were reported in this attack.

Late last week, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Ukrainian forces were now using long-delayed U.S. weapons to help change the course of ongoing fighting for Kharkiv, on the country’s northeastern border with Russia.

“They succeeded in thwarting the Russian advance,” Kirby said.

“The Russians have really stalled up there (and) … their advance on Kharkiv is pretty much over because they have encountered the first line of defense of the Ukrainian forces and have basically stopped or even withdrawn some units.”

Meanwhile, a Russian military court has begun prosecuting three Russian soldiers for the 2022 kidnapping and murder of a Luhansk woman.

Valentyna Davronova was murdered by four soldiers in early 2023.

One of the four soldiers died last summer.

The 23-year-old mother and former Ukrainian soldier was reportedly stabbed 20 times.

Her remains were then destroyed with explosives to erase all evidence of the crime.

In other news, a Slovak citizen who was fighting alongside Russian troops was arrested by Ukrainian soldiers. According to several reports, the arrested man is believed to have killed a girl years ago when he was still a teenager.

Russia has in the past offered to release prisoners who were willing to fight.

And during his stay in France this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with French President Emmanuel Macron.

The two countries signed a funding agreement worth more than $200 million to help Ukraine rebuild its destroyed infrastructure.

More than $60 million of this money is earmarked for necessary repairs to the country’s power grid.

With post wires