Battle | St. Petersburg: Drone strikes residential building

Canada has not ruled out troops in Ukraine. Russian drone strikes on Odessa. More information on the news blog.

9:29 am: In St. Petersburg, two buildings were damaged and residents were evacuated. Residents report hearing loud explosions and shattering windows. The city's governor, Alexander Beklov, described an incident in the Krasnokhvardesky district without giving details. There were no injuries.

“First I opened the window and heard a whistle. Then there was a thunder, a fire and an apartment filled with smoke. The window flew out,” resident Elena told Reuters news agency. Russian media reported that the incident may have been caused by a Ukrainian drone. The target of the drone may be an oil depot in nearby Ruchi.

8.45 am: According to Ukrainian news, two people were killed in a drone attack on a residential building in Odessa. Eight others were injured and six were missing, officials said. President Volodymyr Zelensky writes on the Telegram messaging service that 18 apartments have been destroyed. He posted a video showing a multi-storey residential building collapsing.

6:36 am: Roderich Kiesewetter, a CDU defense politician, sharply criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) for rejecting the deployment of German troops in Ukraine. Scholz is behaving as a “peace chancellor” who appears to be doing everything to ensure that Germany does not become a war party, Kiesswetter tells Berlin's “Dagespiegel”. “He is picking up Russian stories and disinformation in hopes of getting votes from AfD and BSW.”

“Scholz is increasingly becoming a security risk for Europe,” says Kieswetter. “For Russia, such communication is a sign that Russian misinformation and nuclear fear-mongering is having an impact on Europe's strongest economic nation.” In this way, Scholz undermines European opposition to Russia.

After French President Emmanuel Macron refused to rule out NATO ground forces in Ukraine, Scholz spoke out categorically against sending German troops. Macron did not deliberately draw any red lines, Kieswetter tells “Dägespiegel”. This strategic ambiguity is intended to “make the West more unpredictable for Putin”.

4.30 am: A Russian drone attack on Odessa killed one person and wounded at least seven others, Odesa provincial governor Ole Kiper announced Saturday night. Among the injured is a three-year-old boy who is currently being treated in hospital for leg injuries. Six adults are reported to be in stable condition. Information about the victim in the attack is not yet available. According to reports by broadcaster n-tv, several high-rise buildings were hit and one part collapsed.

12:10 am: Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair did not exclude his country's troops in Ukraine. In an interview with the Toronto Star, he said the idea of ​​NATO troops was discussed at the recent NATO summit in Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron was the first to talk about sending troops. According to the defense minister, a limited group would be an option for Canada. However, the condition is that the troops are stationed far from the front and are not engaged in fighting.

Blair said the Canadian military already has a small presence in Ukraine to protect Canadian diplomats and has trained thousands of Ukrainian soldiers as part of Operation Unifier. However, this mission was shifted from Ukraine to other countries after Russia invaded the country.