Russia launches rocket attacks across Ukraine

Russia launched rocket attacks across Ukraine Saturday morning, mainly targeting military facilities.

The New York Times reports more than 40 rockets were used in the attacks, which the newspaper said were launched from Belarusian airspace just hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to meet with Belarusian President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko in St. Petersburg.

It was not immediately clear if there were any fatalities due to the attacks.

Meanwhile, after weeks of fierce fighting with Russian forces, Ukrainian troops are withdrawing from the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk, according to a regional official.

As the Russians close in on the city, Serhiy Haidai, the head of the Luhansk region’s military administration, said that it “does not make sense” to hold on to what he described as broken positions any longer.

He said troops in Sievierodonetsk had received the order to move to new positions.

Russian advances

Ukraine said Russian forces had fully occupied the neighboring city of Lysychansk in the eastern Luhansk region. Moscow claimed it had encircled about 2,000 Ukrainian troops in the area.

The Russian advances appeared to bring the Kremlin closer to taking full control of Luhansk province, one of Moscow's stated war objectives.

To stabilize the situation in Luhansk, Ukraine needs "fire parity" with Russia, Ukraine's top general told his U.S. counterpart on Friday.

"We discussed the operational situation and the delivery flow of international technical assistance," Ukraine's General Valeriy Zaluzhniy wrote on the Telegram app after a phone call with U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley.

Ukraine has said Russia's artillery advantage on the Donbas front lines is taking a significant toll on Ukrainian troops and has called on its Western partners to supply more weapons to minimize the deficit.