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Sergey Shoigu, a key figure in Putin's orbit, was defense minister for 12 years.

Moscow is blaming Ukraine for the attack on the apartment building in Belgorod, Southern Russia, that killed at least 13 people.

Speaking from his window overlooking St. Peter’s Square during the Regina Caeli prayer, the Pope assured all parties involved in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, “that the Holy See remains ready to facilitate every effort in this regard, especially for those who are seriously wounded and sick.”

Ukrainian military medics were working tirelessly to provide essential medical assistance to wounded Ukrainian soldiers on Friday. The medics from the 47th Brigade treated soldiers in a field hospital as Russia advanced in the direction of Avdiivka. (AP video by Vasilisa Stepanenko and Volodymyr Yurchuk)

Kyiv rushes reinforcements to the Kharkiv region as fighting rages on.

Russian troops with armored vehicles and artillery attempted to break through defense lines in the Kharkiv region. In response, Ukraine's Defense Ministry mobilized reserve units in the area.

Russian forces have launched a new push into the Kharkiv region in Northeastern Ukraine as the Biden administration announces a desperately needed $400 million aid package for Ukraine.

STORY: The air force said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app that Russia also launched two anti-aircraft guided missiles. Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Illya Yevlash said in a television broadcast that Russia most likely used the missiles to attack Kharkiv in the country's northeast. Oleh Sinehubov, governor of the Kharkiv region, said three residential houses were set on fire and about dozens damaged as a result of the Russian attack, which he said targeted both infrastructure and residential areas. Two people, including an 11-year-old child, were shell-shocked and were receiving medical help, Sinehubov said on the Telegram messaging app. Reuters could not independently verify the reports. Moscow denies targeting civilians in what it said are legitimate strikes on Ukraine's military, energy and transport infrastructure.

STORY: This hulking German-supplied howitzer rumbles out of its forest hideout. It only has a few minutes to fire before slipping back under cover, to evade Russian surveillance in the skies above. Ukrainian artillery units are playing a cat-and-mouse game to avoid Russian drones hunting high-value weapons like this self-propelled Panzerhaubitze 2000. Crews, including the 43rd Artillery Brigade Reuters recently visited, say they face increasing harassment from enemy drones, now a staple of Russia's arsenal. This battery commander, who goes by his call sign "Lyova" says his unit had been directly hit four times by Russian high-tech attack drones. "They use a lot more strike drones, like "Privet-82". They have different variations of "Lancet" drones which were upgraded. They have cumulative, high-explosive warheads. There were attacks before, but not the same amount. Now it's really scary." Western-supplied artillery, like the German howitzer, is a priority target for Moscow. It has pledged to focus its strikes on these types of weapons. Senior battery officer Andriy Stavnychyi. "The situation has become more difficult because they have a lot of electronically warfare equipment. They don't allow our "birds" to fly over their territory, thus it's harder to detect targets and hit them. The other reason are their kamikaze strike drones. They have an abundance of ZALA and Orlan drones. Sometimes it happens that there's lots of work for the day, but we can't move because something is always flying above. If these "birds" could be shot down or jammed, we'd then be more effective and could work more." Like other Ukrainian artillery units, the 43rd Brigade faces a critical shell shortage that limits the howitzer's potential - forcing it to fire far fewer shells per day. Ukrainian troops across the sprawling front are anxiously awaiting shipments from a long-delayed $61-billion U.S. military aid package. Repairing the vehicle is also a challenge. The availability of spare parts is limited and the navigation system frequently malfunctions and is difficult to fix on the battlefield. Stavnychyi, like many others, is calling for more electronic warfare systems to jam the Russian drones. "The main problem here is spare parts and shells. But even if there were parts and shells, you'd have the problem of enemy 'birds.' So everything needs to work together in a system: electronic warfare and surveillance, artillery. Then our hit percentage would be much higher. Here is what I think."

Russian troops have been advancing in the area and the village has been on the receiving end of its military attacks for several weeks. The drone footage shows many buildings and homes have been destroyed, with many still smouldering after Russia’s assault.

An extraordinary new church is bringing spiritual comfort to war-weary residents of the Ukrainian village of Lypivka. The building, which was damaged in recent fighting, features vibrant works by famed 77-year-old artist Anatoliy Kryvolap. (AP video by Vasilisa Stepanenko and Alex Babenko)

STORY: Cameron said Ukraine had a right to use the weapons provided by London to strike targets inside Russia, and that it was up to Kyiv whether to do so. Cameron, who led the UK from 2010 and 2016 as prime minister and only returned to frontline politics several months ago, met Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on his second visit to Kyiv as foreign secretary. Britain's top diplomat celebrated the release of a long-delayed $60 billion aid package by the U.S. Congress.

Fourteen people were injured after a Russian ballistic missile slammed into the Ukrainian city of Odesa late Wednesday, the State Emergency Service reported. Videos shared by the Emergency Service showed huge plumes of smoke rising skywards at the site.

A 98-year-old woman in Ukraine who escaped Russian forces by walking almost 10 kilometres (6 miles) alone, wearing a pair of slippers and supported by a makeshift walking stick has been reunited with her family days after they were separated as they tried to flee to safety.