Kiev 'retreats' from district in key town, Russia attacks southern Ukraine

Ukraine's forces have withdrawn from a district in the key eastern town of Chasiv Yar, where Russian forces have recently claimed several advances.

"It became impractical to hold the Kanal district, which the enemy had entered, because it threatened the lives and well-being of our soldiers," a Ukrainian military spokesman said on state-run television on Thursday.

"Our defenders' positions had been destroyed. The command decided to retreat to better protected and prepared positions," Nazar Voloshyn added.

Russia had said earlier this week that its forces had advanced around Chasiv Yar but it was unclear if it was claiming its forces had crossed a canal which runs through the eastern part of the town.

Chasiv Yar — a prized military hub that was once a sleepy home to some 12,000 people — lies near the larger towns of Kostyantynivka and Kramatorsk, which are both important military centres, too.

Deadly Russian attack in south

Also on Thursday, a Russian attack on Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region killed two people and wounded another, governor Ivan Fedorov said.

"A man and a woman died as a result of enemy shelling", the regional governor said on Telegram.

He added that another man had been injured in a Russian assault that included 391 strikes on 10 settlements in the last 24 hours.