Kiev, July 8, (dpa/GNA) – Kiev reported several people killed or injured in shelling by Russian forces on Thursday, as Moscow continues to target the eastern region of Ukraine.
Three people died in the Kharkiv region, while five more were wounded, the authorities said. “The enemy is sneaky, targeting residential areas and civilian infrastructure,” regional commander Oleh Synyehubov said.
In Kramatorsk and Avdiivka in Donetsk, two people died and eight were injured, the authorities said. Russia’s attacks only hit civilian targets, according to regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.
Pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk said one person had died and 11 were injured by Ukrainian shelling.
The reports from the areas of fighting could not be independently verified.
Moscow has been focussing on the Donbass and in recent days, shifted its attacks primarily to Donetsk after largely seizing control of Luhansk. It is focusing on Kramatorsk and Slovyansk in particular.
Russia has also shifted some troops, as it seeks to completely take control of Luhansk, the Ukrainian general staff said.
Luhansk Governor Serhii Haidai said earlier that fighting would continue in outer districts, even after the fall of the strategically important city of Lysychansk.
In a celebration of victory on Snake Island, Ukrainian troops again hoisted the country’s flag on the key strategic Black Sea location, some 35 kilometres off the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta.
Russia occupied Snake Island shortly after the start of the war but withdrew around a week ago due to continuous Ukrainian air and artillery attacks.
The spokesperson for the military administration in the Odessa region, Serhiy Bratchuk, published several photos on Telegram showing the flag flying on the island again.
The flag was also signed by Odessa’s military governor Maxim Marchenko, and bears the inscription, “Remember, ‘Russian warship,’ the island belongs to Ukraine!!!”
The island’s fate garnered international attention early on in the conflict for the response of a Ukrainian officer to Russian forces, seeking his troops’ surrender when the island was initially captured. His reply, “Russian warship, go fuck yourself,” was taken as a strong sign of Ukrainian resistance.
The island’s jetty was “significantly damaged” by two Russian missiles, according to Ukrainian sources early on Thursday morning. Moscow later said several Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the attack.
Meanwhile, in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West against a military confrontation, as his invasion of Ukraine continues.
“Today we hear that they want to beat us on the battlefield. What can we say to that? Let them try,” he said at a meeting of the heads of the party factions of the State Duma, the Russian lower legislative house.
He said he wanted everyone to know that Russia has not even really started in Ukraine yet.
He also said Moscow was not rejecting peace negotiations. “But those who refuse should know that the further they go, the more difficult it is for them to come to an agreement with us.”
Putin said the West wants to fight “to the last Ukrainian,” a situation he claimed is “a tragedy for the Ukrainian people.” He also said the West was waging an “economic Blitzkrieg against Russia.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meanwhile urged the West to continue supplying weapons, saying in his Thursday video message, and in particular highlighted Britain’s role as an arms supplier after Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned.
“The greater the defence aid to Ukraine is now, the sooner the war will end with our victory and the smaller will be the losses of all countries of the world,” he said.
GNA