A Russian missile destroyed an apartment building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, killing at least three people, police said, as top EU officials arrived in Kyiv for talks seen as key to Ukraine’s pivot towards the West.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed more anti-corruption measures as authorities continued raids ahead of Friday’s EU meeting, reflecting his determination to show that Kyiv can be a reliable steward of billions of dollars in aid.
“We are here together to show that the EU stands by Ukraine as firmly as ever. And to deepen further our support and cooperation,” the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, tweeted as she arrived in Kyiv by train on Thursday.
Ukraine sees the meeting as important to its hopes of joining the bloc, a process likely to take years. In his evening video address, Zelensky also gave another bleak assessment of the battlefield situation as Russian forces continued to make incremental gains in the east of the country as the first anniversary of Moscow’s invasion looms on February 24.
In Kramatorsk, a Russian Iskander-K tactical missile struck at 9:45pm (1945 GMT) on Wednesday, killing at least three people and injuring 20 others, police said.
“At least eight apartment buildings were damaged. One of them was completely destroyed,” police said in a Facebook post.
“People may remain under the rubble.” Kramatorsk is about 55km northwest of Bakhmut, currently the main focus of fighting in eastern Ukraine.
Russia, determined to make progress before Ukraine gets newly promised western battle tanks and armoured vehicles, has picked up momentum on the battlefield and announced advances north and south of Bakhmut, which has suffered persistent Russian bombardment for months.
“Definite increase has been noted in the offensive operations of the occupiers on the front in the east of our country. The situation has become tougher,” Zelensky said in his evening video broadcast.
“The enemy is trying to achieve at least something now to show that Russia has some chances on the anniversary of the invasion,” he added.
