Russia Continues to Shell Ukraine amid Grinding Push in East

Soldiers of the Ukrainian 3rd Army Assault Brigade of the Special Operations Forces (SSO) "Azov" rest in a blindage after night fight near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Libkos)
Soldiers of the Ukrainian 3rd Army Assault Brigade of the Special Operations Forces (SSO) "Azov" rest in a blindage after night fight near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Libkos)
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Russia Continues to Shell Ukraine amid Grinding Push in East

Soldiers of the Ukrainian 3rd Army Assault Brigade of the Special Operations Forces (SSO) "Azov" rest in a blindage after night fight near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Libkos)
Soldiers of the Ukrainian 3rd Army Assault Brigade of the Special Operations Forces (SSO) "Azov" rest in a blindage after night fight near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Libkos)

Russian forces over the weekend continued to shell Ukrainian cities amid a grinding push to seize more land in the east of the country, with Ukrainian officials saying that Moscow is having trouble launching its much-anticipated large-scale offensive there.

One person was killed and one more was wounded on Sunday morning by the shelling of Nikopol, a city in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, Gov. Serhii Lysak reported. The shelling damaged four residential buildings, a vocational school and a water treatment facility, The Associated Press said.

In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, one person was wounded after three Russian S-300 missiles hit infrastructure facilities overnight, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said.

Ukrainian forces also downed five drones — four Shahed killer drones and one Orlan-10 reconnaissance drone — over the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions on Saturday evening, Kyiv's military reported.

The attacks come as Russian forces push to take over more land in the eastern industrial heartland of Donbas, comprised of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Ukrainian and Western officials have warned that Russia could launch a new, broad offensive there to try to turn the tide of the conflict as the war approaches the one-year mark. But Ukrainian officials say that Moscow is having trouble mounting such an offensive.

“They are having big problems with a big offensive,” Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, told Ukrainian television on Saturday night.

“They have begun their offensive, they're just not saying they have, and our troops are repelling it very powerfully. The offensive that they planned is already gradually underway. But (it is) not the offensive they were counting on,” Danilov said.

A US-based think tank noted that it is also Russia’s pro-Kremlin military bloggers who question Moscow’s ability to launch a broad offensive in Ukraine. They “continue to appear demoralized at the Kremlin’s prospects for executing a major offensive,” the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest report.

Earlier this week the owner of the Russian Wagner Group private military contractor actively involved in the fighting in Ukraine said that the war could drag on for years.

Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a video interview released late Friday that it could take 18 months to two years for Russia to fully secure control of Donbas. He added that the war could go on for three years if Moscow decides to capture broader territories east of the Dnieper River.

The statement from Prigozhin, a millionaire who has close links to Russian President Vladimir Putin and was dubbed “Putin’s chef” for his lucrative Kremlin catering contracts, marked a recognition of the difficulties that the Kremlin has faced in the campaign, which it initially expected to wrap up within weeks when Russian troops invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Russia suffered a series of humiliating setbacks in the fall when the Ukrainian military launched successful counteroffensives to reclaim broad swaths of territory in the east and the south.

On Sunday, Prigozhin said that Wagner fighters have taken over the Krasna Hora settlement north of Bakhmut, a strategic city at the epicenter of the fighting in recent months.



Vatican Releases First Photo of Pope Francis in Hospital

 A general view shows children holding white and yellow balloons gathering by the statue of John Paul II outside the Gemelli University Hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized, in Rome on March 16, 2025. (AFP)
A general view shows children holding white and yellow balloons gathering by the statue of John Paul II outside the Gemelli University Hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized, in Rome on March 16, 2025. (AFP)
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Vatican Releases First Photo of Pope Francis in Hospital

 A general view shows children holding white and yellow balloons gathering by the statue of John Paul II outside the Gemelli University Hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized, in Rome on March 16, 2025. (AFP)
A general view shows children holding white and yellow balloons gathering by the statue of John Paul II outside the Gemelli University Hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized, in Rome on March 16, 2025. (AFP)

The Vatican on Sunday released the first image of Pope Francis in hospital since he began treatment for double pneumonia, in which the 88-year-old pontiff appeared to be breathing unaided.

The pope was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on February 14 with a severe respiratory infection that has required evolving treatment. He has not been seen in public since.

Francis is pictured from behind, sitting facing the altar in a chapel at the hospital. The side of his face is visible and his right hand rests on his lap. There is no sign that he is receiving the supplementary oxygen that he has been given throughout his stay.

The Vatican said the photo was taken on Sunday, when the pope celebrated Mass with other priests in the chapel.

In its latest medical update, issued on Saturday, the Vatican said Francis was gradually improving and was using less mechanical ventilation at night to help with breathing.

The pope has been described as being in a stable or improving condition for nearly two weeks, but the Vatican has not yet given a timeframe for his discharge, saying his recovery is going slowly.

Francis is prone to lung infections because he had pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed.

He has been receiving both respiratory physiotherapy to help with his breathing and physical therapy to help with his mobility. He has used a wheelchair in recent years due to knee and back pain.

Francis celebrated the 12th anniversary of his election as pope from hospital on Thursday.

Doctors not involved in the pope's care have said he is likely to face a long, fraught road to recovery, given his age and other medical conditions.

On Saturday, the Vatican announced that Francis had approved a new three-year process to consider reforms for the global Catholic Church, in a sign that he intends to continue as pope, despite his health difficulties.