Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Aftermath of the Russian strike in Eastern Ukraine

Rescuers have stopped searching for survivors of the Russian missile strike on a shopping center in the city of Kremenchuk.

Authorities say 36 people are thought to be missing.

Russia has denied attacking the mall, saying it hit an arms depot and subsequent ammunition explosions caused a fire in the mall.

Preparations for a referendum in Kherson

Russian troops have detained the former mayor of the occupied city of Kherson in southern Ukraine. Kirill Stremusov, deputy head of Kherson's pro-Russian military administration, said Igor Kolikhaev had openly called on city administration officials to sabotage and ignore the new administration's instructions.

Kherson region has begun preparations for a referendum on joining Russia, TASS reports.

The region is located in southern Ukraine and borders Crimea. In mid-March, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the region was under full control of Russian troops. At the end of April, a civil-military administration was formed in the region.

Authorities have also announced their desire to become part of the Russian Federation.

Battles continue all over the country

The governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region announced an "enemy attack" and said that rescue teams were looking for people under the rubble in the city of Dnipro. So far, there is no comment from the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Ukrainian forces will try to hold the line against Russia east of the city of Lysychansk to gain time for the arrival of Western weapons and for the region's defenders to prepare fortifications, the governor of Luhansk province said.

Russia is also shelling Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. Residential buildings and a primary school were hit.

Zelensky calls on the UN to visit Kremenchuk

President Volodymyr Zelensky has invited the UN to visit the site of the attack, which killed at least 18 people. He called for Russia to be declared a terrorist state.

In a speech via video link to the UN Security Council, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of being a "terrorist state". Zelensky said that Russia commits terrorist acts virtually every day because of the war in Ukraine.

He stated:

"Russia has no right to take part in the discussion and vote on the war in Ukraine, which is unprovoked and a manifestation of colonialism on the part of Russia. I call on you to deprive the delegation of this terrorist state of its powers in the UN General Assembly. This is possible, it is necessary and it is fair".

Rocket strikes on Mykolaiv, there are dead and wounded

Eight rockets were fired by the Russian occupiers in the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, so far it is known that three people were killed and five were injured. Rescue operations continue.

Different parts of the city have been affected, Mayor Alexander Senkevich was quoted as saying by UNIAN. A living person was rescued from the rubble of a destroyed five-story building, and doctors are providing the necessary assistance, he added.

Senkevich also said that a house was also affected, one entrance of which was completely destroyed and the other - partially, and it is not known how many people were in it during the attack.

“From the first day of the war, I beg you to leave the city. According to our estimates, more than half of the population has already done so. We hope that at the time of the missile strike there was a minimum number of people in the house. The rescue operation will be carried out until the wreckage is completely cleared”, Senkevich added.

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