KYIV: Russian attacks in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine on Friday killed four people and injuries around 24 others, said officials.
Moscow has concentrated its military actions on this industrial area, which it claims to have annexed and where Kremlin-backed forces have held sway since 2014.
Vadym Filashkin, the regional governor, said that a 32-year-old woman was killed and 20 people were wounded due to Russian shelling in Komar. This attack damaged homes, shops, and an administrative building. Filashkin also mentioned casualties from a Russian Smerch rocket strike in Ukrainsk, resulting in one death and one injury.
In addition, two persons were killed and two were injured in Selydove, a town near a front-line sector where Russian forces are advancing.
Meanwhile, to the north in Donetsk region, Russian forces are advancing towards the hilltop settlement of Chasiv Yar, with images from Ukrainian forces showing widespread destruction of Soviet-era housing blocks in nearby towns.
Separately, officials installed by Moscow in parts of Donetsk under its control reported three deaths from Ukrainian shelling in Volnovakha. In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin told Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban that Ukraine must relinquish control over four regions in the east and south, including Donetsk, for peace negotiations to proceed.
