Ukraine-Russia war: At least two people killed and 12 injured as heavy fighting rages

At least two people have been killed and 12 injured in Russian shelling and bombing of the Kherson region of southeastern Ukraine, as Moscow’s forces claimed to have repelled a wave of attacks by Kyiv’s military on targets in occupied Crimea.

Heavy fighting raged in several areas of the front line in eastern Ukraine on Monday, and Ukrainian officers and officials said Russian troops were attacking near the towns of Kupiansk and Bakhmut and seemed to be preparing for another assault on the industrial town of Avdiivka.

Russian shelling killed one person in the village of Kindiyka in Kherson province and another in the regional capital of the same name, where seven people were also wounded when a shell exploded near a local passenger bus. At least five other civilians were wounded in similar incidents around Kherson province, where Russian forces controlling the eastern bank of the Dnipro river shell and bomb the Kyiv-held western bank daily.

Two people were also injured when a Russian missile struck a ship-repair plant in the southern district of Odesa on the Black Sea. Officials said Ukrainian air defences shot down 12 attack drones and two missiles fired by Russia in the early hours of Monday.

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Ukraine has liberated a handful of destroyed and almost deserted villages near the occupied town of Bakhmut in recent months, but Russian units in the area have been reinforced and are now trying to regain lost positions, while also tying up Ukrainian troops who could otherwise join Kyiv’s counteroffensive operations further south.

“In the east, the situation remains difficult. The Russians are particularly active in the Kupiansk area, where they are trying to advance in several directions at once,” said Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine’s ground forces.

“In the Bakhmut area, the enemy significantly strengthened its grouping and switched from defence to active operations…The enemy is suffering heavy losses and cannot achieve its goals.”

In Avdiivka, 70km south of Bakhmut, local administration leader Vitaliy Barabash said heavy Russian artillery attacks and air strikes continued ahead of what he expected to be another attempt to storm the town.

[ Moscow threatens to seize EU assets if Russian funds used to defend Ukraine ]

“The enemy continues to apply pressure, attempting to breach our defences. They are currently focusing on ground operations, and we’ve observed a significant redeployment of their forces. They are moving a substantial amount of equipment and personnel from other areas. We expect a fresh wave of attacks in the coming days,” Mr Barabash told Ukrainian media.

“They need some victories because there are no victories on other fronts…The Russians seem to think that they are very close to achieving their task (in Avdiivka), despite the colossal losses in manpower and equipment.”

[ Ukraine-Russia war at stalemate says Belarus’ Lukashenko ]

The Ukrainian military said it “struck a strategic part of an air defence system on the western coast of occupied Crimea” on Monday.

Russia said its armed forces had thwarted several Ukrainian attacks on the Black Sea peninsula, however, and claimed to have shot down eight Western-supplied cruise missiles and two marine drones near the port of Sevastopol.