MOSCOW: Russian missile strikes in central Ukraine have wounded five children among 34 people, according to regional authorities.
The attack targeted the Pavlograd district of the Dnipropetrovsk region in the early hours of Monday. The Ukrainian military claims it downed 15 of the 18 missiles launched by Russian forces.
In response, Russia said it had launched long-range precision strikes on Ukrainian ammunition production facilities. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said Russian forces had killed one person and injured three others in the southern Kherson region within the past 24 hours.
The latest missile barrage came after a pause in the attacks, which had been ongoing since winter and targeted key infrastructure in Ukraine.
Most of the fighting in recent weeks has been focused on the eastern Donbas region, with the city of Bakhmut being the center of the conflict. Russian forces have made slow but incremental gains in the industrial town, controlling approximately 80% of it.
Ukraine strengthens air defence
Ukraine has strengthened its air defences, including with US Patriot systems, and has appealed to Western allies for help in fending off Russian attacks on the energy grid.
The Russian-controlled part of the Black Sea region has remained under Russian control since the eponymous regional capital was withdrawn from by Russia last November.
Oleksandr Syrsky, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, stated that his troops had launched small counterattacks in the now-destroyed city of Bakhmut. “In some parts of Bakhmut, the enemy was counter-attacked by our forces, and left some positions,” Syrsky said.
Russia is failing to seize the city, he added, while cautioning that the situation was still “quite complicated.” The ongoing conflict has left many Ukrainians displaced and in need of aid, with infrastructure and healthcare systems in shambles.
