Three killed in Odesa missile strike

Ukraine says Russian missiles struck civilian buildings in the Black Sea port city of Odesa overnight, killing at least three people and wounding 13.
Ukrainian forces shelled a residential area in Nova Kakhovka, injuring one person, the city’s Russia-installed administration said.Wagner boss reiterates refusal to sign ministry contracts
Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin reiterated that Wagner fighters would not sign contracts with the defence ministry, a day after President Vladimir Putin said the agreements were needed.

Prigozhin said: “None of Wagner’s fighters is ready to go down the path of shame again. That’s why they will not sign the contracts.”

He added that a “compromise solution” would be if the government allowed Wagner fighters to receive social guarantees and status as combatants.

On Tuesday, Putin backed a call by the defence ministry for “volunteer” fighters to sign contracts in a move widely seen as a means to assert control over the Wagner group.

Putin said that contracts were necessary to allow all participants in Russia’s campaign in Ukraine to receive benefits, including compensation for wounded fighters.Senior Chechen commander wounded in Ukraine, Russia says
A senior Chechen commander fighting in Ukraine has been wounded, the Russian Ministry of Defence television channel Zvezda reported.

Adam Delimkhanov, a member of the State Duma and commander of the Chechen division of the Russian national guard, is widely seen as the region’s second most senior official behind Ramzan Kadyrov.

In a message posted on Telegram, Kadyrov said he could not contact Delimkhanov and asked for help finding his “dear brother”.

Delimkhanov took a prominent role in Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine, commanding Chechen forces in the bloody battle for Mariupol in the early days of the war.

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian media reported that Delimkhanov had been killed in an artillery strike in southern Ukraine.France, Saudi Arabia to discuss the war in Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron will discuss the war in Ukraine when he meets Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), on Friday, the French presidency says.

The talks between the two leaders come a month after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended an Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia, where MBS expressed his readiness to mediate between Ukraine and Russia.

Earlier in the day, the Saudi state news agency reported that MBS had left for France.Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant can get water from wells: Russia
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant can get water to cool its fuel from its own wells if the level of a nearby reservoir falls significantly, Russian official Yevgeny Balitsky was quoted as saying by the Russian state-owned Tass news agency.

The level of the Kakhovka Reservoir has fallen sharply after a dam breach last week.

Blast in Odesa comes 24 hours after Kryvyi Rih attack: AJ correspondent
Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull, reporting from Kyiv, says the attack on Odesa comes 24 hours after a missile strike on Kryvyi Rih, which killed 11 people.

“In the early hours of Wednesday morning, it was Odesa’s turn, the Black Sea port city. Four missiles fired, one getting through and striking infrastructure, including what’s described as a residential sector and shopping mall,” Hull said.

“Three reported dead there with 13 injured and rescue efforts still going on. Also, reports coming in this morning of early hours attacks on two towns in eastern Donetsk. Three people killed there with three further injuries reported.”