The Latest Breaking News from Donetsk

Voting on whether Russia should annex Kremlin-controlled regions of Ukraine opened Friday as the West denounced the referendum that has dramatically raised the stakes of Moscow's seven-month invasion.

The Moscow-orchestrated referendums, which have been widely denounced by Ukraine and the West as shams without any legal force, are seen as a step toward annexing the territories by Russia.

The Kremlin-orchestrated votes in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia are widely considered to be illegitmate

Moscow-held regions of Ukraine begin voting Friday on whether to become part of Russia, in referendums that Kyiv and its allies have condemned as an unlawful land grab. The referendums in eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions, as well as in the southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions have been roundly dismissed…

The Ukrainian military has recaptured a village in the eastern Donetsk region, as well as territory around the key town of Bakhmut in Donbas, a senior officer said on Friday. The military gains come as Moscow-proxies held votes on annexation by Russia. Read about the day’s events as they unfolded…

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Voting began on Friday in four Ukrainian regions mostly held by Russian forces, the start of a plan by President Vladimir Putin annex a big chunk of Ukraine in what the West says is violation of international law that significantly escalates the war.

Ang Wood said she thought she would never see her son Aiden Aslin alive again after he was captured earlier this year then sentenced to death by a court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic

Officials say Russian missile strikes in the southern city of Zaporizhzha left one person dead and five others wounded as Ukrainian shelling in Russian-controlled Donetsk city killed at least five people

At least six civilians including a teenager were killed in a missile strike on the centre of the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk on Thursday, Russian-backed authorities said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday announced a partial military mobilization, as Russian forces battle a Ukrainian counter-offensive that has regained some occupied territory. In a televised address, Putin said the partial mobilization of its 2 million-strong military reserves was to defend Russia and its territories, claiming the West wants…