Russia's Defense Ministry

Russia said Saturday its forces destroyed three Ukrainian naval drones being used in an attempt to attack a key bridge linking Russia to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula, forcing its temporary closure for a third time in less than a year.

Russia's Defense Ministry said it "continued to retaliate" for Ukraine's attack on buildings in Crimea, targeting targets in the Black Sea ports of Odessa and Nikolaev.
On the other hand, Washington strongly condemned the Russian attacks, pointing out that Moscow plans to target civilian ships as well.

The Russians threatened

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky huddled with some of his biggest backers at the Group of Seven meeting in Hiroshima on Sunday, hoping to add to the momentum for his country's war effort even as Russia claimed a symbolic victory on the battlefield.

The US has reportedly warned Kyiv since January that Ukrainian forces will not be able to hold the key city in Donbass - Bakhmut, and has repeatedly called for a withdrawal, the Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing intelligence documents.

Day 382 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

The fate of a devastated salt-mining town in eastern Ukraine hung in the balance Wednesday in one of the bloodiest battles of Russia's invasion, while Ukraine's unflagging resistance and other challenges prompted Moscow to shake up its military leadership again.

Russian forces used jets, mortars and rockets to bombard Soledar in an unrelenting assault.

Ukraine's president praised the United States for including tank-killing armored vehicles in its latest multibillion-dollar package of military aid, saying they are "exactly what is needed" for Ukrainian troops locked in combat against Russian forces, even as both sides celebrated Orthodox Christmas on Saturday.

An explosion Saturday caused the partial collapse of a bridge linking the Crimean Peninsula with Russia, damaging an important supply artery for the Kremlin's faltering war effort in southern Ukraine and hitting a towering symbol of Russian power in the region.

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

At least three killed and 15 injured in a rocket attack on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro

At least three people were killed and 15 injured in a rocket attack last night on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.

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

Russia continues its slow push in Ukraine