Russian attacks killed two and wounded more than a dozen others in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine on Friday, regional officials said.

Moscow has centered its firepower on the industrial region, which it claims to have annexed and has been partially controlled by Kremlin-backed forces since 2014.

“A village council employee was killed and 14 of her colleagues were wounded during hostile shelling in the Volnovakha district,” prosecutors said in a statement.

The head of the region said one person was killed and another was wounded in a Russian Smerch rocket attack on the town of Ukrainsk. 

“The Selydivska community is constantly under enemy attack – it is dangerous to stay here, as well as in the rest of Donetsk region,” governor Vadym Filashkin wrote on social media.

Advertisement

Russian forces are pushing towards the hilltop settlement of Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region. Images distributed by Ukrainian forces of the town show rows of destroyed and smoldering Soviet-era housing blocs.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban that Ukraine must abandon four provinces in the east and south – including Donetsk – that Moscow claims as its own if Kyiv wants peace.

To suggest a correction or clarification, write to us here
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter