A Russian missile attack overnight on the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv killed at least one person and injured 23 others, including children, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday. Russia “never ceases to prove that the main goal of this war is terror and the destruction of Ukrainians,” he said in a Telegram post sharing a video of the attack’s aftermath.
In Moscow, the Kremlin welcomed the first phone call between Zelensky and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, since the war began. “We are ready to welcome anything that may bring the end of the conflict in Ukraine closer,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. However, he added that the call remains the “sovereign business of each of these countries, and absolutely a question of their bilateral dialogue.” The White House also expressed cautious optimism over the call.
Here’s the latest on the war and its impact across the globe.
Russia needs more troops but is wary of public anger, leaked documents say: Russia faces twin challenges as it scrambles to enlist additional troops for the war and struggles to make territorial gains in Ukraine. Russian officials are wary of provoking public anger, and some government officials worry about increasing labor shortages in the civilian workforce, leaked U.S. military documents suggest, writes The Post’s Mary Ilyushina.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in February reportedly backed the military’s proposal to “quietly recruit” 400,000 more troops in 2023, a CIA daily intelligence update suggested, based on intercepts or by eavesdropping on Russian military communication.
Natalia Abbakumova contributed to this report.