Russia's Defense Ministry said on Friday it had carried out multiple cluster strikes targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure and forces over the past week.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in its latest report that its forces used high-precision weapons and attack drones to carry out seven cluster strikes on Ukrainian defense industry sites and their supporting gas and energy infrastructure, military transport infrastructure, military airports, weapons repair bases, drone storage, assembly and launching sites, and temporary deployment points of Ukrainian forces and foreign mercenaries.
It said that the attacks were retaliation for Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian civilian facilities.
On the same day, Ukraine's Chief of the General Staff Andrii Hnatov said the direction of Pokrovsk, known as Krasnoarmeysk in Russia, remained one of the most-contested frontlines.
Speaking in a briefing following a Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff meeting, he said Russian forces had gained a relative advantage in manpower and equipment and had pushed into the city's built-up areas, particularly in the southern outskirts.
Hnatov said Russian troops were establishing forward positions to sustain their offensive.
Russia launches cluster strikes on Ukraine
The escalating military conflict in the Middle East could bring severe economic consequences and job losses to the region which may plunge up to 4 million people into poverty, a United Nations spokesman has warned.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, outlined the growing concerns surrounding the deepening conflict during a regular press briefing on Tuesday.
Citing data released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Dujarric said the widening war could result in a devastating economic impact, which will have a profound effect on people's livelihoods.
"I wanted to flag some interesting data just released by the United Nations Development Programme that suggests the military escalation in the Middle East may cost economies in the region from 3.7 to 6 percent of their collective gross domestic product (GDP). This represents a staggering loss of 120 to 194 billion U.S. dollars and exceeds the cumulative regional GDP growth achieved in 2025. This is coupled with an estimated rise in unemployment of up to 4 percentage points or 3.6 million lost jobs, which is more than the total jobs created in the region last year. These reversals will push up to 4 million people into poverty, according to UNDP's analysis," he said.
The conflict erupted on Feb. 28 when the United States and Israeli launched joint airstrikes on the Iranian capital Tehran and several other cities. U.S-Israeli attacks have continued since, targeting key Iranian military command centers, missile installations, energy infrastructures and nuclear facilities.
In response, Iran has launched waves of missile and drone strikes against Israel and U.S. military facilities across the Middle East, including those in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The situation shows little sign of de-escalation as Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that a recent truce plan proposed by the United States contains "very excessive, unrealistic and unreasonable" demands.
Wider concerns are also mounting over the disruption to trade and transport along the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping passageway that carries about one-quarter of global seaborne oil trade.
UN spokesman warns up to 4 million could be pushed into poverty by Mideast conflict
