A Russian missile attack killed nine people and wounded 21 others in eastern Ukraine on Friday, as Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Ukrainian forces had been forced to withdraw from part of the town of Bakhmut, at the heart of Moscow’s slow advance in the region. Ukraine’s military command this week dismissed as exaggerated Russian claims that its forces now control 80 percent of the city.

A brief summary of the events of the last day

• At least nine people, including a two-year-old child, were killed and 21 injured on Friday as a result of a Russian rocket hitting residential buildings in the city of Slovyansk in eastern Ukraine, the emergency services of the Donetsk region reported. The governor of the region, Pavlo Kirylenko, said on national television that seven Russian S-300 missiles were launched at the city west of Bakhmut and “at least seven points were hit.” Rescuers searched for victims all night under the rubble using cranes, ladders and other heavy equipment.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law allowing authorities to release electronic messages to conscripts and reservists during the fighting in Ukraine, raising fears of a new wave of mobilization. The bill was published in the official register of government documents on Friday. Previously, the rules of military service in Russia required the personal delivery of summonses to conscripts and reservists who are called up for service.
• Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition politician, is suffering from severe stomach pains in prison that may be the result of slow-acting poisoning, a close associate said on Friday. “His condition is critical. We are all very worried,” said Ruslan Shaveddinov in a telephone conversation.
• The Security Service of Ukraine has issued a warning to millions of residents of the country who are celebrating the Orthodox Easter this weekend, Sky News reports. Ukrainians were asked to “limit attendance at mass events” and not sit “unnecessarily” in churches during the traditional consecration of the Easter basket.
• Jack Teixeira was remanded in custody pending a hearing scheduled for Wednesday, April 19. A member of the US Air Force National Guard has been charged with theft and unauthorized possession of classified documents and materials. The 21-year-old made his first appearance in federal court in Boston on Friday after the FBI arrested him in Massachusetts the day before.
• A government ministry said that on Friday, Ukraine recovered the bodies of 82 of its soldiers from Russian-controlled territory. He did not provide details on how the bodies were removed, but said it was done “in accordance with the norms of the Geneva Convention”.
• The parents of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Hershkovich said they remained optimistic about the positive outcome of his detention, insisting their son “still loves Russia.” Let’s believe in a happy ending,” Hershkowicz’s mother, Ella Millman, told the WSJ. for the first time since his arrest on espionage charges on Friday. “But I’m not stupid. I understand what that means, but it’s what I choose to believe.”
• China approved providing lethal aid to Russia for its war in Ukraine, but wanted all supplies to remain secret, according to declassified US government documents. According to a Washington Post article, a top-secret intelligence memo dated Feb. 23 said Beijing approved a gradual supply of weapons to Moscow that it allegedly disguised as civilian goods. Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Friday that the country will not sell arms to parties involved in the conflict in Ukraine and will regulate the export of civilian and military dual-use goods.
• Ukrainian security forces are finding more and more components from China in Russian weapons used in Ukraine, said the adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
• The 15 Russian diplomats expelled by Norway this week were trying to recruit sources, conduct so-called signals intelligence and acquire advanced technology, Norwegian security police said on Friday.
• Ukraine has banned national teams from participating in the Olympic, Neo-Olympic and Paralympic Games, in which athletes from Russia and Belarus participate, the Ministry of Sports reported. The decision, published in a decree on Friday and criticized by some Ukrainian athletes, came after the International Olympic Committee angered Kyiv by clearing the way for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under a neutral flag despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet with his counterparts in Sweden and Germany next week, including a Ukraine-related defense meeting with senior officials from nearly 50 countries, the Pentagon said.