Russian forces fired cruise missiles at the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa and shelled the eastern Donetsk region early Wednesday, killing at least six people, regional Ukrainian officials said. Russian forces have recently stepped up aerial strikes in their nearly 16-month war, a Ukrainian military spokesman said. It comes as Ukraine claims to have made advances in the face of “extremely fierce” fighting during its counteroffensive against Vladimir Putin’s forces, and has suggested Russia is losing a “staggering” 900 troops a day. As the lower house of Russia’s parliament gave its initial backing to plans to enable Moscow to enlist suspected or convicted criminals to bolster its army in Ukraine, Kyiv’s deputy defence minister claimed advances of several hundred metres near Bakhmut and Zaporizhzhia. The claimed advances – which contrast with Russian claims to have repelled attacks – preface a critical Nato meeting this week where Kyiv will urge the West to greenlight delivery of fighter jets, with senior Kyiv official Yuriy Sak telling The Independent that if “had we had F-16s, by now the situation would have been different”. Read More Belarus receives nuclear bombs ‘three times size of Hiroshima bomb’ from Russia Russia steps up aerial strikes on Ukraine – killing at least 6 Russia losing 900 soldiers a day during counteroffensive, Ukrainian officials claim