Russia-Ukraine war live: five children among dead after Russian missile attack on Pokrovsk, local official says | Ukraine

Five children were among the 11 people killed by a Russian missile strike that hit in and around the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk on Saturday, the governor of the Ukrainian-controlled part of Donetsk region has said.

According to Reuters, Vadym Filashkin told Ukrainian television that Russian forces engaged in “mass shelling” of Pokrovsk at around 3pm.

He was quoted as saying:

As a result of this barbaric attack, 11 people died, including five children aged from three to 17 years.

Ten people were injured. Rescue operations are continuing. Closer to morning we will have a better understanding of the final numbers of those who were injured.

In response to the reports of the attack, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, wrote on Telegram that “Russia must feel – always feel – that no such strike will go without consequences for the terrorist state”.

Ukraine’s air force said on Sunday that its air defence systems shot down 21 out of 28 attack drones launched by Russia overnight.

Posting on Telegram, the air force said Russia targeted mainly the south and east of Ukraine, with three cruise missiles also reportedly being launched at Ukraine overnight.

It said that Ukrainian air defence was at work above Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kirovohrad, Vinnytsia, and Cherkasy regions during the night.

No damage or casualties have been reported by military and civilian authorities.

The UK’s Ministry of Defence said yesterday that Russia is continuing to struggle to establish air superiority over Ukraine.

Welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the war in Ukraine.

Five children are among the dead in a Russian missile strike on the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a local official has said. Rescuers have continued to comb through the rubble of the at the site of the attack, searching for survivors.

More on that shortly, first here’s a roundup if the day’s other main news.

• The Russian military is on course to lose 500,000 personnel within the next year, according to the UK’s Ministry of Defence. The MoD tweeted: “The average daily number of Russian casualties in Ukraine has risen by almost 300 during the course of 2023. If the numbers continue at the current rate over the next year, Russia will have lost over half a million personnel in Ukraine.”

• The UK’s Ministry of Defence says Russia is continuing to struggle to establish air superiority over Ukraine. Three Russian combat jets were shot down just before Christmas and that affected ground forces’ tactical objectives later in the month, the MoD said. It added that Russia has been increasing its aerial strikes in recent days “but at a lower level than before the shootdowns”.

• Denmark’s transfer of 19 American-made F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine will take place in the second quarter of 2024, once Ukrainian pilots have completed training, the defence ministry has said. The Danish ministry said in a statement: “Based on the current timetable, the donation should take place in the second quarter of 2024. It’s mainly an issue of finishing the training of Ukrainian personnel who will operate the planes.”

• Polish farmers suspended their blockade of a major crossing into neighbouring Ukraine following the signing of an agreement with the Polish government. Truckers continue to blockade three other main border crossings into Ukraine in protest at “unfair competition” from Ukrainian counterparts and against the relaxation of access rules to the European Union for Ukrainian firms.

• Reuters reports that the Kharkiv region prosecutor’s office has provided further evidence that Russia attacked Ukraine with missiles supplied by North Korea, showcasing the fragments. On Friday, a senior adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia hit Ukraine this week with missiles supplied by North Korea for the first time during its invasion.