Russia claims 389 artillery hits on Ukraine

Russia said on Saturday that its artillery units had struck 389 Ukrainian targets overnight.

These include 35 control points, 15 arms and ammunition depots, and several areas where Ukrainian troops and equipment were concentrated.

Russia’s defence ministry said that its missiles had hit four ammunition and fuel depots.

Ukraine military said Russian forces pounded the eastern Donbas region on Saturday but failed to capture three target areas.

The Russians were trying to capture the areas of Lyman in Donetsk and Sievierodonetsk and Popasna in Luhansk, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said in a daily update.

“Not succeeding – the fighting continues,” it said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in remarks published early on Saturday, said lifting Western sanctions on Russia was part of the peace talks, which he said were difficult but continued daily by video link.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has insisted since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24 that sanctions needed to be strengthened and could not be part of negotiations.

He said on Friday there was a high risk the talks would end because of what he called Russia’s “playbook on murdering people”.

Ukraine accuses Russian troops of atrocities in areas near the capital, Kyiv, that they previously occupied. Moscow denies the claims.