(Reuters) – Four people were murdered in two villages in the Sumy region near the Russian border by Russian shelling in northern Ukraine, while a woman was killed in a new attack on the badly damaged town of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, according to local officials.
According to the Sumy region’s local government, three persons lost their lives in a mortar attack in the village of Znov-Novohorodske. In a different community to the southeast, a fourth person perished.
Officials in the Sumy region describe regular attacks by Russian soldiers, however, Reuters was unable to confirm the reports.
Public broadcaster Suspilne reported that a woman in the Ukrainian-held village of Avdiivka, close to the front line, passed away following severe injuries sustained during mid-afternoon shelling.
Pro-Russian militants briefly took control of Avdiivka in 2014, seizing significant areas of eastern Ukraine, but Ukrainian forces retook the area by fortifying it.
Despite intense attacks, it has been in Ukrainian hands during Russia’s sluggish advance through eastern Ukraine since mid-October. Almost all of the town’s structures have been destroyed.
In an evening report, the General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces stated that throughout the previous day, Ukrainian forces had successfully withstood thirteen Russian strikes in and around Avdiivka.
Russian military activity has been reported to have intensified recently on large portions of the 1,000 km (600 mi) front line that runs through eastern and southern Ukraine, according to military officials.
Despite increased Russian bombardment, military spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk stated at a briefing that Ukrainian forces were expanding the footing they had established in late October on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River.
Following the invasion in February 2022, Russian forces marched through the Kherson region; nevertheless, by the end of the year, they had left behind the region’s principal town and the western bank of the Dnipro.
