Three people have been killed in a missile strike on Kherson, Ukrainian authorities say.
The attack on Saturday morning came four months to the day after the city was liberated by Ukrainian forces.
Meanwhile further to the east, the battle for the devastated city of Bakhmut continues to rage on.
Evguéni Prigojine, the boss of the Wagner paramilitary group, claimed his men on the frontline were making progress.
“This is the municipal administration building, the administrative centre of the city,” he said on Saturday, in a video message, pointing from the roof of a building, allegedly in the city centre.
But Ukrainian forces have said that any retreat on their part would be tactical, with a view to launching a counter-offensive.
“We need time to build up our reserves and start the spring counter-offensive, which is not far off,” said the commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi.
Just west of Bakhmut in Chasiv Yar, the Ukrainian army said they were firing M777 howitzers as Russian shelling continued.
“We are fighting until victory, we need the victory, not only peace,” said a Ukrainian commander of the 44th brigade.
Kyiv’s Defence Ministry said on Saturday that Ukrainian forces had the day before “repelled more than 100 enemy attacks” in the main combat zones.
Their determination to stop the city from falling remains strong.