Russia-Ukraine war: At least eight people were killed in Russian attacks targeting 11 areas in Ukraine amid fierce clashes between both sides as Kyiv is charging ahead to remove Moscow’s forces from the territories they have occupied, according to Ukrainian authorities.
On Friday, four people, including a married couple, were killed in a shelling by Russian forces in Niu-York, south of Bakhmut city, said the regional prosecutor’s office in the Donetsk region. Three others were left injured in the attack, AP reported.
Ukraine’s interior ministry on Saturday reported that two civilians were killed in an attack by multiple rocket launchers in Kostiantynivka, located in the Donetsk region. As many as 20 private homes, vehicles and a gas pipeline were destroyed in the attack. Two others were also killed near the northern city of Chernihiv as Russian missiles destroyed the local cultural centre, said the regional military administration.
Three civilians were injured in an overnight shelling by Russian forces a town near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, according to local Governor Serhiy Lysak. The plant is reportedly used as a base for firing on Ukraine-held territories nearby.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military forces on Saturday reported that they have shot down 14 Russian drones overnight, including five Iranian-made drones.
The fighting in Ukraine has escalated after Russia announced to halt of a crucial grain deal that allows the movement of agricultural goods from Ukraine to other countries. After the withdrawal, Russia said that it would consider any ship travelling to Ukrainian Black Sea ports as being laden with weapons and will be treated as a military target and a participant on Kyiv’s side.
Soon after, Ukraine announced that it will also treat ships travelling to Russian Black Sea ports as military targets.
Russia has followed its action of stopping the grain deal by initiating a series of attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure and farm storage buildings, a move seemingly aimed at crippling the latter’s food exports.