MOSCOW: The Russian Defence Ministry claimed on Saturday it had taken the control of Ukrainian town of Berestki in the Donetsk region.
The ministry said Units of Russia’s Center battlegroup continued to advance deep into Ukraine’s defences and taken control of the settlement of Berestki in Donetsk.
TASS news agency reported that Russia hit a temporary deployment site of units of a brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine using TOS-1A Solntsepek heavy flamethrower.
It said the Russian Ministry of Defence published the footage of the destruction of a temporary deployment point of units of the brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces by a platoon of the TOS-1A Solntsepyok in the area of the settlement Razliv in the Volnovakha district. It claimed that at least 45 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the strike.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian National Information Agency Ukraineform reported the death toll resulting from the Russian airstrike on Zaporizhzhia has increased to ten, with 22 people reported wounded.
This was announced on Telegram by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES), as reported by Ukrinform. The fire that engulfed a car repair shop building and six vehicles has now been extinguished.
Later, the SES of Zaporizhzhia region clarified that by 22:00 on Friday, the number of injured had risen to 22, including a four-month-old infant and children aged four and 11.
Earlier reports indicated that nine people had died in the attack on the evening of December 6. At least one injured person remains in critical condition.
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Ukraineform in another report said that Ukraine successfully repatriated 1,029 Ukrainian children from Russia so far. This update was provided by Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights.
“The Ukrainian team, together with international partners under the Bring Back UA initiative, has managed to return 1,029 Ukrainian children. This is the updated figure,” Lubinets stated.
He noted that Qatar has played a key intermediary role in facilitating the return of Ukrainian children.
According to Lubinets, the primary challenge remains verification, as Russia continues to withhold information about Ukrainian children.
“We are using every available mechanism to obtain information about the location of Ukrainian children, restore their documents, and then provide information to our partners. They handle communication with the Russian side. Afterwards, we work out the logistical routes to bring our children back,” Lubinets added.
