About ten people were killed and about 30 wounded today in Russian shelling of a military facility in Dnipro, a large industrial city in central-eastern Ukraine, the city's defence chief said.
Russian forces are reinforcing their positions in Kherson and Ukrainian forces are defending hard in the city of Severodonetsk.
"Iskander missiles hit National Guard drill area.... About ten people were killed and 30 to 35 wounded," Genadi Korban told local TV channel Dnipro TV. "This despite the fact that we and the army had tried to take precautions, allocating personnel" around the perimeter of this facility, he added, suggesting that the casualties were soldiers.
Missiles
Three missiles were fired from the Russian Rostov region, he said, but only one caused casualties.
This morning, provincial governor Valentin Reznichenko announced on Telegram that a storm of Russian fire had hit Dnipro overnight and in the morning today, causing "serious damage" but without giving an account.
"Rescue services are removing debris and searching for people," he wrote without further details.
On the Dnieper
Dnipro, an industrial city of one million people crossed by the river of the same name (Dnieper), is the border with the eastern regions of the country, where the majority of residents are Russian-speaking.
The region has so far been relatively spared from fighting between the Ukrainian and Russian armies, although its airport was "completely destroyed" during a bombing raid on April 10, according to local authorities.
Russian positions in Kherson
Meanwhile, Russian forces are reinforcing their defensive positions in Ukraine's Kherson region, which lies north of Crimea, while shelling Ukrainian-controlled areas on a daily basis, the Ukrainian governor of the region, Gennady Laguta, told a press briefing today.
He said the humanitarian situation is critical in some parts of the region and residents are finding it almost impossible to leave the occupied territories, with the exception of a 200-car convoy that left on Wednesday.
Tough defence
At the same time Ukrainian forces are putting up a tough defence in the eastern city of Severodonetsk, which is two-thirds surrounded by Russian forces, the governor of the Luhansk region said today, citing the head of the city's administration.
The shelling, which is "very heavy", has destroyed 90 percent of the city's homes, Sergei Gaidai added, also quoting Oleksandr Struk.
Fighting in Lyman
In addition, Ukrainian military forces are fighting to maintain control of the northwestern and southeastern part of the city of Lyman, according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, as Russia's offensive in eastern Ukraine accelerates.
Ukrainian soldiers are "countering attempts" by Russia to advance its offensive toward the crucial Ukrainian city of Sloviansk, Defense Ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanik said.
Source: in.gr
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