Three people were killed and three others wounded by Russian artillery shelling of the town of Kostyantynivka in eastern Ukraine on Saturday, Donetsk region governor Vadym Filashkin said.
Three men aged between 24 and 69 were killed and a multistorey block, administrative building and a shop were damaged, Filashkin said in a post on the Telegram social media platform.
Three other people were lightly wounded and received medical treatment, Mr Filashkin said.
Kostyantynivka, which before the war was an industrial town of around 70,000 people, has seen many of its residents leave as the frontline has moved closer through the 30-month Russian invasion. It has been hit regularly by missiles, bombs and artillery.
Odesa Letter: ‘Unbroken Women’ overcome dreadful conditions to care for children with severe disabilities
Ukraine facing ‘difficult’ position without more western support, Zelenskiy says
‘Without a free Ukraine there will be no free Belarus’: Russian defeat key to region’s future, say Belarusian fighters
Ukraine pushes ‘victory plan’ and says North Korea now involved in war on Russia’s side
In August, authorities announced a compulsory evacuation of families with children from the city due to the danger posed by Russia’s advances.
Ukraine’s air force said on Saturday Russia launched 67 long-range drones in a mass overnight attack, 58 of which it was able to shoot down.
The air force said in a statement on the Telegram app that air defence units were scrambled into action in 11 regions across Ukraine.
Reuters correspondents in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, heard a series of explosions shortly after 3am (12am local time) on Saturday, some of which resounded loudly around the city centre.
Since the start of its invasion in February 2022, Moscow has launched thousands of missiles and long-range drones into Ukraine.
Kyiv’s air force said the Shahed drones were launched from two border regions in Russia as well as from the Russian-occupied peninsula of Crimea. – – Reuters
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024