Ukraine pushes Russia back in Donetsk as military, civilian casualties soar

Russian forces continue to retreat in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.The Kremlin-aligned channel Rybar, on Telegram, said on October 7 that Moscow’s forces were losing villages south of Lyman, a town they have tried to capture as a springboard to mount a full-scale offensive on the “fortress belt” cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Is Europe preparing for a wider war with Russia?list 2 of 4At least 24 killed as Russia launches massive attack on Ukrainelist 3 of 4‘New tactic’: Russia expands deadly attacks on Ukraine’s transport systemlist 4 of 4Putin pledges Russia’s support to end US-led war on Iranend of listA Ukrainian counteroffensive named “Operation Vivaldi” this year has reclaimed 175 square kilometres (67 square miles) of previously occupied land around Lyman.British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha visit a makeshift memorial at the site of an apartment building where 22 residents were killed the day before by a Russian missile strike in the town of Pryluky in the Chernihiv region, Ukraine, October 8, 2026 [Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters]“The enemy is using su...