Ukraine updates: Zaporizhzhia hit by 'massive' strikes

Ukrainian soldiers tried to breach Russian territory at Kursk six times, but were repelled by Russian troops, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Kyiv has been occupying parts of Russia’s Kursk region since early August.

The latest Ukrainian attack, according to Russian officials, saw Ukrainian troops try to enter Russia from multiple points near the village of Novy Put, around 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of the gas export hub of Sudzha.

"With the support of the military air force and artillery fire, six attempts of the Ukrainian army to breach the border of the Russian Federation… were repelled," the ministry said in an online post.

They also said 50 Ukrainian soldiers were either killed or injured during the fighting, and five surrendered. One tank and four other armored vehicles were destroyed, according to the Russian ministry. The claims could not be independently verified.

The Kremlin said changes to Russia's nuclear doctrine have been prepared and are about to be formalized, meaning that the relevant documents outlining the circumstances under which Moscow can use nuclear weapons will be updated.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state TV reporter Pavel Zarubin: "The amendments have been prepared, and will now be formalised."

Peskov cited the international situation as the backdrop for the doctrine changes. He pointed to escalating tensions near Russia's borders — and the growing proximity of NATO infrastructure to them — as well as what he called the "deeper involvement of Western nuclear powers" in the Ukraine war on Kyiv's side.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West on Wednesday that under the proposed changes to the doctrine, Russia could use nuclear weapons if attacked by conventional missiles and would consider any attack on it from a country backed by a nuclear power to be a joint attack.

Russian air defenses have shot down 125 Ukrainian drones, according to the country's Defense Ministry. 

Authorities in the southwestern city of Voronezh reported damage from falling debris. Fires also reportedly broke out. 

Several cars, two apartments and a children's playground were damaged, said Governor Alexander Gusev. No one was hurt, he added.

In addition to Voronezh, the border regions of Belgorod and Rostov were particularly targeted, while the Bryansk, Kursk and Krasnodar regions were also attacked in isolated cases, according to the Defense Ministry. 

Ukraine, defending itself against a full-scale Russian invasion, often attacks targets on Russian territory to hit military supplies. 

At least 16 people were wounded in a series of Russian strikes on Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine, officials said.

Ukrainian emergency services said in a statement that the regional capital was hit by several "massive aerial strikes" at dawn.

"A building and six houses in different city neighborhoods suffered a lot of destruction," said the statement, adding that 42 members of the emergency services were helping those potentially trapped under the rubble.

The regional governor, Ivan Fedorov, said earlier that Zaporizhzhia had been hit by 10 Russian strikes that destroyed "a multi-story building and some houses."

The strikes injured at least 16 people, including two children aged 8 and 17 years old, he said.

Russia illegally annexed the Zaporizhzhia region in 2022, but the main city of the same name remains under Kyiv's control.

dh/nm (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)