Ukraine says its military has fended off dozens of Russian attacks over the past day, as Kyiv's Western allies discussed fortifying its air defenses ahead of a spring counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces.
The Ukrainian military "repelled 53 Russian attacks on the Bakhmut, Avdiyivka, Maryinka, and Shakhtar areas" in the country's east, Ukraine's General Staff said on April 22.
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Russian forces launched 30 air strikes and three missile strikes, and carried out 50 attacks from multiple-rocket launchers over the past 24 hours, it added.
Russia's Defense Ministry on April 22 said that "assault troops" had captured three more western districts in Bakhmut, the devastated Ukrainian city that has been the focus of Moscow's offensive in recent months.
"Airborne troops were restraining Ukrainian units on the flanks and supported the actions of the assault squads to capture the city," the ministry said. Russian commanders often refer to Wagner mercenary fighters as "assault troops."
Meanwhile, five Russian missiles struck the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv and surrounding districts late on the night of April 22, causing some damage to civilian buildings, the regional governor, Oleh Synyehubov, wrote on his Telegram channel.
Battlefield claims by either side are difficult to immediately verify.
The fighting comes as dozens of countries that have supported Kyiv in its fight against invading Russian forces gathered in Germany on April 21 to discuss further military aid for Ukraine.
General Mark Milley, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a news conference that beefing up Ukraine's air-defense system was "the critical military task right now," adding that the goal is to make sure that it is robust and rigorous.
Milley said air defense was the theme all day of the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, speaking alongside Milley at the news conference, said Kyiv's allies in the contact group believe that what Ukraine needs most urgently is ground-based air defense capability.
"That is what has enabled them to prevent the Russian air forces from having a meaningful impact in this fight," Austin said.
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting consisted of representatives from some 50 countries that are providing military aid to Ukraine.
The Russian Foreign Ministry responded to the Ramstein meeting by warning of an "uncontrollable" arms race and said Moscow needed to build up its tactical missile capabilities, including those on its Kaliningrad territory bordering Poland and Lithuania, the RIA state news agency said.
Austin confirmed that the United States plans to deliver Abrams tanks to Germany in the coming weeks, saying Ukrainian soldiers will be trained on how to use them.
The training is to take place at a military training area in southern Germany and last around 10 weeks, according to earlier news reports about the delivery of the tanks.
In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a law on April 21 that prohibits naming geographical sites in Ukraine after Russian figures or historical events and dates associated with Russian aggression.
The law bans toponymics that "glorify, perpetuate, promote, or symbolize" Russia or its "prominent, memorable, historical and cultural places, cities, dates, events, and figures who carried out military aggression against Ukraine and other sovereign countries."
The move is part of broader "de-Russification" efforts in Ukraine amid Moscow's invasion.