Ukrainian general’s rise from far-right wing agitator to war hero

Russian troops are intensifying their attacks on the heavily fortified city of Kostiantynivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine’s top army official said.

Kostiantynivka is part of a so-called fortress belt in the country's east, defended fiercely by the Ukrainian military.

"We are repelling the Russian occupiers' persistent attempts to gain a foothold in the outskirts of Kostiantynivka using infiltration tactics,” Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine's army chief, said on the Telegram app.

“Counter-sabotage measures are going on in the city.”

Meanwhile, Russian drones struck the Ukrainian port city of Odesa overnight, injuring at least 20 people and damaging residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, including a kindergarten.

Russia said it would implement a temporary ceasefire around Victory Day on 9 May regardless of Ukraine’s response.…