A Russian missile hit a school in Donetsk in recent hours, killing two and injuring six, according to an update from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“The school is completely destroyed,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.
The attack comes as questions have bubbled up over whether Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin’s staged revolt in Russia last weekend will impact fighting in Ukraine, where Wagner mercenaries have been fighting Ukrainian forces for months.
So far, it isn’t clear if the failed mutiny will affect fighting on the ground, which continues from both Ukrainian and Russian forces in Ukraine, according to a White House National Security Council assessment shared with reporters Friday. The Ukrainian government’s counteroffensive against Russian forces in Ukraine is continuing in earnest, John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator, said on a call.
“The Ukrainians are working on their offensive operations,” Kirby said. “The Russians still have… tens and tens of thousands of troops, largely in defensive formations from all the way from the Donbas all the way on down… to Kherson.”
“It’s just too soon to say what kind of potential strategic impact the events of last weekend are going to have with respect to… what’s going on inside Ukraine,” Kirby added.
But given the fact that there’s “still fighting going on… it’s difficult to look at what happened and come away with the conclusion that the fighting has been significantly altered or changed in any way,” Kirby said.
Russian forces for now are concentrating their operations in Lyman, Bakhmut, and Marin, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. “Heavy battles” continued in each region, the update stated.
But Ukrainian forces continue to target Russian troops. Russia lost almost two companies in the Tavrian direction in recent hours, according to an update from Commander of the Tavria operational and strategic group of troops Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi.
“The losses of the enemy in killed and wounded amounted to almost two companies,” Tarnavskyi said, adding that Ukrainian troops destroyed four Russian ammunition depots. “The defense forces in the Taurian direction are making progress and moving forward.”
In recent hours Ukrainian forces hit a Russian military headquarters and an enemy fuel depot near Berdiansk as well, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Russians may have another trick up their sleeves, though. According to a new assessment from Ukrainian intelligence, the Russians have been “gradually leaving” the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which they have been occupying since the early days of the invasion last year. Some have been warned to leave by July 5, according to an update from the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense.
Kyiv has grown concerned that Russia might be preparing to stage an attack or incident at the nuclear power plant in order to “release… dangerous substances into the air,” Ukrainian President Zelensky warned in remarks Saturday.
“We have been saying for a long time that there is a serious threat. Because Russia is technically ready to provoke a local explosion at the plant,” Zelensky said Saturday. “We communicate this very clearly. We are discussing all this with our partners so that everyone understands why Russia is doing this and puts pressure on the Russian Federation politically so that they don't even think about such a thing.”
Ukraine has been conducting nuclear disaster response drills in recent days, according to the Associated Press.
The White House said earlier this week it is “watching this very closely.” The United States is monitoring radio activity near the plant, and as of Monday this week, the White House saw no imminent threats, Kirby said. “We have… the ability near the plant to monitor radio activity, and we just haven’t seen any indication that that threat is imminent, but we’re watching it very, very closely.”