Threatening war with NATO.. Putin warns Westerners of long-range missiles sent to Ukraine

Meanwhile, fighting continues in the Donbass region, where Russian soldiers are advancing towards the strategic city of Pokrovsk.

The Ukrainian president announced on Thursday that three people were killed in Russian shelling of Red Cross vehicles in this region in eastern Ukraine. The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed that the three dead were its employees, and that two others were wounded.

Zelensky announced that a Russian missile hit a ship loaded with wheat heading to Egypt in the Black Sea on Thursday morning.

Pokrovsk, an important logistics center for the Ukrainian army, has been a target for weeks for Russian forces, which are superior in numbers and equipment. The situation there continues to deteriorate as the Russian army advances towards it, and is now less than ten kilometers away.

Water was cut off to the city due to the fighting, according to the municipality, which had a population of about 53,000 before the war.

The regional governor, Vadim Vilashkin, for his part, reported that the gas supply system was damaged, stressing that “with each passing day, the number of (open) shops in Pokrovsk is decreasing, and living conditions are becoming more difficult.”

The municipality said that "the situation is difficult and will not improve in the near future," and urged the city's residents once again to evacuate.

(French)