Day 228 of the Invasion of Ukraine: At least 17 people Killed after Rocket Attack on Zaporizhzhia

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

At least 17 people have been killed in a rocket attack in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia

The Russian armed forces again launched rocket attacks on Zaporizhzhia last night, with the targets being mostly residential blocks. According to the local authorities in Zaporizhzhia, about 20 private houses and about 50 high-rise buildings have already been damaged (the numbers are increasing with each passing hour).

According to city council secretary Anatoly Kurtev, 17 people are currently known to have died. Rescuers and utility services have already dealt with the consequences of the explosions, but the exact number of dead will be known only after the debris is removed.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the documents for the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

Ukrainian forces are engaged in very heavy fighting near the strategically important eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which Russia is trying to capture, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his midnight video address, Reuters reported.

Although Ukraine's military has reclaimed thousands of square kilometers of land in recent offensives in the east and south, Ukrainian officials say progress is likely to slow as Kyiv's forces face more determined resistance, Reuters noted.

Russian forces tried several times to capture Bakhmut, which is located on the main road leading to the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. Both cities are in Donbas.

"We hold our positions in Donbas, in particular in the direction of Bakhmut, where it is very, very difficult now, there are very heavy battles,"...