Ukrainian officials confirmed that water and electricity supplies were cut off from areas in Mykolaiv, Kherson, and Odessa, after Russian bombing targeted the three provinces, while Moscow confirmed that its forces thwarted Ukrainian attacks in a number of fighting axes, and the Secretary-General of NATO (NATO) expressed his concern about the possibility of exit The war in Ukraine is out of control, turning into a direct war between Russia and NATO.

The pro-Ukrainian Kherson authorities spoke of a very difficult situation in the eastern regions of the country, and said that water and electricity supplies were cut off from areas in Mykolaiv, Kherson and Odessa, after Russian bombing that killed two people.

The Ukrainian army reported that the Russian bombardment continued on the provinces of Kherson, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhia and Dnipro, in the south of the country, and on Kharkiv and cities and towns in Lugansk and Donetsk, in the east.

Russian bombing

And the Al-Jazeera correspondent, quoting the Ukrainian army, stated that during the past hours, the Russian forces carried out more than 70 attacks on the villages and towns of Kherson, in addition to targeting water stations in Mykolaiv, and also launched raids on 20 villages located on the contact line in Zaporizhia and villages in Nikopol in Dnipro. .

For its part, the Ukrainian General Staff said that more than 20 towns in Bakhmut, Donetsk, in the east of the country, have been subjected to intense Russian shelling during the past hours, and that its forces continue to repel any advance of Russian forces towards the city.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the situation in the main areas of the Donbass front (eastern Ukraine) is still very difficult, but Kiev forces are repelling Russian attacks.

Zelinsky confirmed - in a speech - that the Russian forces had completely destroyed the city of Bakhmut, one of the hottest areas on the front.


Russian ships and Iranian drones

For its part, the Ukrainian Navy said that it had monitored the movements of 10 hostile Russian ships on a combat mission in the Black Sea and two in the Sea of ​​Azov, and another 9 were monitored in the Mediterranean, 5 of which were loaded with Caliber cruise missiles.

In turn, the Ukrainian Air Force said that its forces shot down 10 Iranian-made drones last night, targeting the provinces of Mykolaiv, Kherson and Odessa, in the south of the country.

The Ukrainian Air Force statement said that Russian forces are launching attacks on targets in southern Ukraine with Iranian-made Shahed-136 and Shahed-131 drones.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian army announced a new exchange deal with the Russian side, under which 50 Ukrainian soldiers were released.

Ukrainian attacks

For its part, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that its units had repelled attacks by Ukrainian forces in the south of Donetsk Province, and made progress towards new areas at the Krasny Limansky axis in the province.

A spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense said that the Russian artillery destroyed an American radar and Ukrainian "Grad" missile launchers that were stationed near Seversk, north of the city of Bakhmut, adding that 40 Ukrainian soldiers were killed during an attack on the axis.

In the Krasnolyman axis, the statement indicated that the Russian forces thwarted two attacks by the Ukrainian forces, and killed about 60 soldiers of the Ukrainian army.

As for the Kobyansk axis, the Russian defense said that its forces killed more than 30 Ukrainian soldiers during today's battles.

For its part, the pro-Russian authorities of Lugansk Province announced that the bombing of Ukraine with HIMARS missiles targeted the cities of Svatovo and Novobskov, and damaged residential buildings and infrastructure facilities in the province.

nuclear weapon

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that his country might consider adjusting its military strategy, to direct - what he called - a "preemptive strike" to disarm those he described as enemies.

He added, in response to a question about the use of nuclear weapons, that perhaps Moscow should consider adopting the ideas developed by the Americans to ensure their security.

The Russian president stressed that his country's hypersonic missiles and systems are more modern and even more efficient than those possessed by Washington.

Iranian support

In the context, Washington warned of the danger of Iran's support for Russia in its war on Ukraine, according to it, and the expansion of military cooperation between the two countries.

London also accused Tehran of sending hundreds of drones to Russia, and said that the two sides' agreements threaten global security.

For its part, Tehran strongly denied these accusations.

In its daily assessment of the course of Russia's war on Ukraine, the British Military Intelligence Service said that Iran has become one of Russia's largest military supporters.


Istanbul talks

Regarding political developments, Russian and American diplomats held talks in the Turkish city of Istanbul, and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that the talks dealt with sources of concern for the two parties, expressing his hope that relations between Moscow and Washington would return to normal with time.

Ryabkov made it clear that his country will not initiate negotiations with Washington in order to conclude a new agreement in the field of "strategic stability", nor will it propose to the United States to conduct negotiations on "security guarantees", which Washington abandoned under the pretext of the events in Ukraine, according to him. His saying.

In a statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry regarding the political consultations between Turkey and Russia in Istanbul, the statement said that the Turkish delegation stressed to the Russian delegation the importance of quickly returning to negotiations to reach a just and lasting solution to the Ukrainian crisis.

He explained that the Turkish delegation assured its Russian counterpart of Ankara's readiness to provide all kinds of support for these negotiations.

The Russian president said that his country is ready to continue its contacts with Washington at the level of the intelligence services to work on issues of prisoner exchange, stressing that contacts with Washington at the level of the intelligence services were proposed by the American side and will continue.


NATO concern

Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed concern about the possibility of the war in Ukraine getting out of control and turning into a direct war between Russia and NATO.

Stoltenberg said - in an interview with Norwegian media - that the war in Ukraine may become large-scale and turn into a major war, stressing work to avoid this.

On the other hand, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that he will continue to contact Russian President Vladimir Putin, "despite his disappointing experiences during his recent calls with him," and said, "I want to witness the moment when it is possible to get out of the situation. And this cannot be done if we do not talk together."