Ukrainian regional authorities reported on Wednesday that Russian airstrikes resulted in the deaths of six individuals in various locations in the central and southeastern parts of the country.

According to regional Governor Yuriy Malashko, five people lost their lives as a result of six missile strikes that targeted the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia in the early hours of Wednesday.
Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak said that a Russian strike damaged six residential buildings and killed one person in the Dnipro district.

Meanwhile, British intelligence said that Russia’s ground forces were intensifying attacks, likely in an effort to push past the eastern frontline and create a buffer around Luhansk.
French President Emmanuel Macron has reaffirmed his country’s support for Ukraine during a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the French presidency said.

Macron’s conversation with Zelenskyy comes amid speculation that Israel’s war with Hamas may impact Western powers’ support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.

“He assured the Ukrainian president that the proliferation of crises would not weaken French and European support for Ukraine, which will be there for as long as it takes,” said Macron’s office.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine highly values France’s military aid. “President Macron and I focused on the next steps to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense, long-range, and naval capabilities,” he wrote on X, previously known as Twitter.

Earlier this month, NATO members assured Zelenskyy that they would keep up military aid deliveries to Ukraine, even as Western attention focuses on the fallout from Hamas’ attack on Israel.
The German government proposed steps to speed up the integration of tens of
thousands of Ukrainian refugees into its labour market, calling on companies to loosen their German language requirements and offer extra training.

The government is hoping to enlist the support of companies, employment agencies and associations for a voluntary commitment, and appointed a special representative from the Federal Employment Agency, Daniel Terzenbach, to liaise with them.

The German economy urgently needs labour and skilled workers, Labour Minister Hubertus Heil said. “Work also leads to integration,” he added.

According to the Federal Employment Agency, the employment rate of Ukrainians in Germany is currently 19%. “But this is far from enough,” Heil said.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, more than one million people from Ukraine have sought protection in Germany. As of September, there were 205,970 unemployed Ukrainians in Germany