Russian strikes kill 5 in east Ukraine, journalist killed near Kyiv

Ukraine said Wednesday that five people were killed in Russian strikes in the east of the country, while a journalist was among those killed near Kyiv by Russian drones overnight, her employer announced.

"At least five people were killed and eight were wounded in the strikes on Kostyantynivka," the governor of the Donetsk region wrote on social media. In a separate statement, the Ukrinform news agency said journalist Tetyana Kulyk was among two people killed in a Russian attack near Kyiv.

- Kyiv launches counterattack near Pokrovsk -

Ukrainian troops said Wednesday that they had launched a successful counterattack in the eastern Donetsk region, gaining control over the village of Kotlyne near a key transit artery and the logistics hub of Pokrovsk.

"Taking this settlement would have allowed the occupiers to reach the Pokrovsk-Dnipro highway, so the enemy sent significant forces to capture it," the Ukrainian unit involved in the operation posted on social media.