Russian strike kills six as Ukraine marks Defenders Day

Russian strike kills six as Ukraine marks Defenders Day

Ukraine is marking its third veterans day since Russia's invasion

A Russian strike on a southern Ukraine market killed six people on Tuesday, authorities said, as the nation held a moment of silence marking a major public holiday honouring its troops.

Debris, broken glass and bodies were strewn around the market in Kherson city, which lies on the western bank of the Dnipro river, a de facto front line between Russian forces in the east and Ukrainian forces in the west.

The regional prosecutor's office had reported seven killed, but later lowered the toll to six, saying that doctors stabilised one of those presumed dead.

"Around 9 am (0600 GMT) on October 1, Russian forces struck the centre of Kherson, allegedly with cannon artillery. The shelling took place near a local market and a public transport stop," it said on Telegram.

Moscow's troops withdrew from Kherson in November 2022, retreating to the other side of the Dnipro, but they have kept up intense shelling of the city.

In the neighbouring Zaporizhzhia region a Russian strike killed one and wounded 32, Ukraine's interior ministry said.

- 'Painful moments' -

The deadly attack came as Ukraine held a nationwide moment of silence remembering the country's war dead on Defenders Day, the third since Russia invaded in 2022.

Traffic came to a halt in the capital Kyiv as dozens of residents held portraits of loved ones who had died in the war, some weeping. 

President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the army in a speech to soldiers, acknowledging that his troops had suffered "painful moments" on what he said was a "difficult" path to victory. 

"Inside we are all screaming with pain for each fallen hero, screaming with hatred for the evil that has come to our land," he said.

Neither Ukraine or Russia disclose how many of their soldiers have been killed in the conflict, but independent estimates put the number in the tens of thousands on each side.

- Russia advancing -

Russia has been advancing on the eastern front for months, and on Tuesday claimed to capture two more frontline villages including one just 13 kilometres (eight miles) from the key Ukrainian supply hub of Pokrovsk.

Responding to reports that Russian troops were closing in on another key Ukrainian-held town, Vugledar, the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin regularly received battlefield reports.

Moscow has pressed ahead even as Kyiv's forces mount an offensive into the Russian region of Kursk.

Russian authorities have also waged an intense crackdown against dissent at home, announcing Tuesday that they had detained 39 people including children accused of backing "Ukrainian terrorist" groups.

The Ukrainian army is meanwhile suffering from fatigue after more than two and a half years of war and relentless Russian bombardment.

- Budget is 'balanced' -

As Moscow pressed ahead in the east, Russia announced plans on Monday to boost its defence budget by almost 30 percent next year as it drives resources into the Ukraine war.

Russia had already ramped up military spending to levels not seen since the Soviet era, pumping out missiles and drones and paying lucrative salaries to its hundreds of thousands of soldiers. 

The latest planned increase in spending will take Russia's defence budget to a 13.5 trillion rubles ($145 billion) in 2025 -- more than the outlays on welfare and education combined.

The Kremlin on Tuesday denied that Moscow had skewed its priorities.

"This is a carefully balanced, calibrated budget. The state maintains the fulfilment of social obligations," spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Ukraine, which has also been forced to accelerate its military spending, will allocate more than 60 percent of the country's entire budget to defence and security next year. 

But Russia's $145 billion defence budget dwarfs Ukraine's at $54 billion, with Kyiv reliant on Western military and financial aid to continue fighting.

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Originally published as Russian strike kills six as Ukraine marks Defenders Day