At least seven civilians have been killed and two others injured in Russian strikes in the war-torn Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, the regional governor said Thursday.
The region is next in Russian troops’ line of fire as they step up their offensive after capturing Severodonetsk and Lysychansk in the neighboring region of Lugansk.
“The Russians killed seven civilians: three in the city of Toretsk, two in Avdiivka, one in Kodema and one in Siversk,” regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram, providing the region’s toll for the past 24 hours.
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In a separate statement, the Ukrainian presidency said Thursday that several localities in Donetsk region had come under multiple artillery and rocket launcher fire.
Ukrainian authorities have on several occasions urged residents to leave the region as the frontline approaches Sloviansk and the regional administrative capital of Kramatorsk, which remain under Ukrainian control.
On Tuesday, at least two people were killed and seven more injured after Russian forces pounded Sloviansk, local authorities said.