Ten strikes hit the city of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine overnight causing powerful explosions, mayor Oleksandr Syenkevych said on his Telegram channel.
Two universities were hit during the strikes, the head of the region's military administration said.
A firefighter works at the site of a building damaged by a Russian military strike in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, on July 14. (State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Reuters)
Some context: The fighting around Mykolaiv has ramped up in recent days with villages along the border with the Kherson region becoming the front lines as Ukrainian forces try to penetrate Russian defenses in occupied areas of southern Ukraine. One person was reported injured in Mykolaiv on Thursday after the city came under a "massive missile attack," according to the region's military chief.
5:59 a.m. ET, July 15, 2022
Zelensky calls on international community to recognize Russia as a "terrorist state" after Vinnytsia attack
From CNN's Mariya Knight
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during his evening video message on Thursday July 14. (Office of President of Ukraine)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the international community to officially recognize Russia as a terrorist state in his nightly address on Thursday in the wake of the Vinnytsia attack.
"Russia has shown its attitude to international law, to Europe, and to the entire civilized world," Zelensky said.
"After that, no one can have any doubt that a Special Tribunal on Russian aggression against Ukraine is needed as soon as possible."
Zelensky's remarks come after missiles struck the city of Vinnytsia on Thursday. He said that among 23 people killed were three children under the age of 10.
The President called for the confiscation of "all Russian assets and funds in all countries of the world" in order to compensate "for the victims of Russian terror."
"It is absolutely necessary to implement as soon as possible such restrictions against Russian energy exports, which will not allow terrorists to cover their costs at the expense of the international community," he said.
According to Zelensky, a final number of casualties is still being clarified as "the debris clearance is ongoing" and "dozens of people are listed as missing."
"One of the missiles destroyed the Neuromed medical center. There were people inside," he said.
The President said that among the dead was a 4-year-old girl named Liza and added that her mother is "in critical condition at the moment."
"Russia ended the girl's life just at the time when a conference on Russian war crimes was taking place in the Netherlands, in The Hague," Zelensky said.
Watch video:
8:57 p.m. ET, July 14, 2022
More than 40 settlements in Kherson region back in Ukrainian control, official says
From CNN's Tim Lister
Dmytro Butriy, the acting head of the Kherson region military administration, said 44 settlements in the largely occupied area have been liberated.
Butriy gave no timescale. A Ukrainian offensive in Kherson began in May and has since recovered a number of villages, but no towns of any size.
Butriy said at a news briefing that the settlements were still suffering as they were under constant Russian bombardment.
"We urge people to evacuate to protect themselves and their families. Russian occupiers are not human," he said.
Butriy alleged the Russians had shot civilian cars in convoys as they tried to leave the region. CNN has previously reported on the shelling of convoys of civilian vehicles as they have tried to leave Russian-occupied areas.
Butriy also claimed "there were times when civilians were discovered dead with traces of torture."
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said "people can leave the occupied territories of Kherson region through the occupied Crimea or through [the] Vasylivka [checkpoint] towards Zaporizhzhia. It is necessary to leave, despite the fact that it is difficult. It is much more dangerous to stay in the occupied territory than to dare to go through all the checkpoints and leave."
Other Ukrainian officials have said it's increasingly difficult for people to leave through the Russian checkpoint at Vasylivka, with people spending several days waiting to get through.
12:32 a.m. ET, July 15, 2022
Ukraine's new US rockets are causing fresh problems for Russia
From CNN's Tim Lister and Oren Liebermann, CNN
(EyePress /News/Shutterstock)
There's a new and potentially very significant factor in the Ukrainian conflict: the Ukrainians' ability to use recently supplied Western systems to hit Russian command posts, logistical hubs and ammunition dumps a long way beyond the front lines.
In the past week, there have been enormous explosions in several occupied areas in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. The available evidence, from satellite imagery and Western analysts, is that the targeting has been highly effective.
For months the Ukrainian military pleaded for long-range precision artillery and rocket systems from Western partners. Now they have them and are deploying them to considerable effect in both the south and east of the country.
The Ukrainian military is not giving away many specifics but Vadim Denysenko, a senior official at the Interior Ministry, said Wednesday that in the past two weeks, "above all things thanks to the weapons that Ukraine received, we were able to destroy approximately two dozen warehouses with weapons and stocks of fuel and lubricants. This will certainly affect the intensity of fire" the Russians can muster, he said.
Best-in-class is the US-supplied HIMARS multiple launch rocket system, but the Ukrainians have also received M777 howitzers from both the US and Canada, and Caesar long-range howitzers from France.
In addition, the UK has committed to providing M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), which are more powerful than HIMARS, but it's unclear when Ukraine will complete training on the system and deploy it.
The HIMARS' versatility is in its name: the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System. Its mobility makes it harder to target and it can be crewed by just eight soldiers. The rockets supplied to Ukraine have a range of 70 to 80 kilometers (about 50 miles). And their GPS guidance systems make them extremely accurate.
Putin signs law introducing special economic measures to support the military
From CNN’s Uliana Pavlova and Radina Gigova
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Thursday allowing the government to introduce special economic measures to support the Russian armed forces during "counter-terrorism and other operations" outside the country.
As the special measures get adopted, companies will not be able to refuse government contracts and employees will have to work at night and on holidays.
The government also received the right to temporarily reactivate mobilization capacities and facilities and the right to unbook the material assets of the state reserve.
Although the Russian government continues to reject framing the conflict in Ukraine as a war, the new measures effectively mean the country is reshaping its industry in support of the ongoing invasion.
On Thursday, Putin also signed additional laws that include tougher measures for individuals or entities considered foreign agents by Russia, and expanding criminal liability for defection to high treason.
