| Strikes in Ukraine ahead of a counteroffensive |
| Explosions rang out across the front line in Ukraine as both sides sought to gain an advantage before an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive to retake territory captured by Russia. Russian forces fired cruise missiles and attack drones at targets across Ukraine overnight on Saturday, according to Ukrainian officials, while blasts were reported in Russian-occupied Melitopol and Berdiansk in southern Ukraine. |
| The civilian toll of the war continues to climb. The body of a 2-year-old girl was pulled from the rubble after a Russian strike in the Dnipropetrovsk region that also wounded 22 others, including five children, a regional official said. At least 535 children have died in the war, and at least 1,000 have been wounded, according to official figures. |
| After months of preparations, Ukrainian officials have said in recent days that Kyiv’s forces are ready to launch its counterattack, and in a speech, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, took the unusual step of thanking a dozen individual soldiers by name for their service to their country. |
| Victims: Zelensky paid tribute to the children lost to the war. “Many of them could have become famous scholars, artists, sports champions, contributing to Ukraine’s history,” he said in a statement. |
| Related: Curriculums in Russian schools are increasingly emphasizing patriotism and the heroism of Moscow’s army and demonizing the West. |
