#Fierce #fighting #reported #eastern #Ukraine
Russian troops increased the pressure on Ukrainian defense positions during the fierce fighting in eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian commander of the region said on Saturday.
The fighting was concentrated in the area west of Bahmut – Serhiy Sidorin said on Ukrainian television. “The enemy is suffering heavy losses, but is constantly replenishing its ranks with fresh reserves,” said the commander. The purpose of the Russian attacks is to advance towards Khasiv Yar.
“Fights are going on day and night,” Szydorin said.
The Ukrainian army is trying to break the Russian offensive with counterattacks, but it had to retreat behind the village of Ivanyivske.
“The enemy is currently trying to besiege the city, frontally and from the sides,” Szidorin said of the situation.
In Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Donetsk counties, as a result of Russian bombings, at least three civilians were killed and three others were wounded, the authorities announced on Saturday.
A 58-year-old woman was the victim of an artillery attack in Olhivka, located on the Ukrainian-controlled bank of the Dnieper, in which a 49-year-old man was also wounded, the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior announced.
Also, according to the ministry’s information, a settlement in Dnipropetrovsk County was also hit by artillery hits. A 16-year-old boy died of his wounds in the attack, and his 22-year-old brother was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
In Chasiv Yar, Donetsk County, a 46-year-old man died in Russian strikes, announced the governor of the county, Vadim Filaskin. According to Filaskin, almost two hundred people, including 21 children, were evacuated from villages near the front line, from the area of heavy fighting. The Russian army captured the town of Avgyijivka in February and is continuing its offensive in the region.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force’s statement on Saturday, it shot down twelve Iranian-made Shahid-type drones in Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Poltava regions out of fifteen launched by Russian forces.
