- Russia bombing “along the entire front line”: Ukrainian military
- Russia regrouping for the offensive towards Sloviansk, says Kyiv
- Moscow orders measures to prevent Ukrainian attacks in the east
Kyiv, July 17 (Reuters) – Russia is preparing for the next stage of its offensive in Ukraine, a Ukrainian military official said after Moscow said its forces would intensify military operations in “all operational areas” .
Russian rockets and missiles have hit cities in attacks that, according to Kyiv, have caused dozens of deaths in recent days.
“They are not just missile attacks from the air and the sea,” Vadym Skibitskyi, a spokesman for Ukrainian military intelligence, said on Saturday. “We can see bombing along the entire line of contact, along the entire front line. There is an active use of tactical aviation and attack helicopters.
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“In fact, there is some activation of the enemy along the entire front line … It is clear that preparations are now underway for the next stage of the offensive.”
The Ukrainian military said Russia appeared to be regrouping units for an offensive toward Sloviansk, a symbolically important city Ukraine had in the eastern Donetsk region.
Ukraine says at least 40 people have been killed in Russian bombings in urban areas in the past three days as war intensified by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24.
The rockets struck the city of Chuhuiv, northeast of the Kharkiv region, on Friday night, killing three people, including a 70-year-old woman, and injuring three more, regional governor Oleh Synehubov said. Read more
“Three people lost their lives, why? Why? Why did Putin go crazy?” said Raisa Shapoval, 83, a distressed resident sitting in the ruins of her home.
In the south, more than 50 Russian Grad rockets hit the city of Nikopol on the Dnipro River and killed two people who were found among the rubble, Governor Valentyn Reznichenko said.
Moscow, which calls the invasion a “special military operation” to demilitarize and “de-Nazize” its neighbor, says it uses high-precision weapons to degrade Ukraine’s military infrastructure and protect its own security. He has repeatedly denied addressing civilians.
Kyiv and the West say the conflict is an unprovoked attempt to reconquer a country that was liberated from Moscow’s rule by the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered military units to intensify operations to prevent Ukrainian attacks in eastern Ukraine and other areas controlled by Russia, where he said Kyiv could affect civilian infrastructure or residents , according to a ministry statement.
His comments appeared to be a direct response to what Kyiv says is a series of successful attacks on 30 Russian logistics and ammunition centers, using various multiple rocket launch systems recently supplied by the West.
The attacks are wreaking havoc on Russian supply lines and have significantly reduced Russia’s offensive capability, a spokesman for Ukraine’s defense ministry said on Friday. Read more
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Reuters office reports; Written by Raju Gopalakrishnan; Edited by William Mallard
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