Russian missiles rained down
on Ukraine’s second city overnight, as the local governor accused Putin’s
army of ‘absolute terrorism’ for targeting civilians.
A school, a block of flats and
a factory were blown up in the city of Kharkiv in three separate
attacks launched from Russia between Sunday and Monday morning.
At least three people are
dead, regional governor Oleh Syneihubov said, while ‘scores’ more are injured
including children aged four and 16.
Syneihubov said the targets
were ‘exclusively civilian’ as he bashed Putin’s commanders for what he called ‘absolute
terrorism.’
Russia has stepped up its
attacks on civilians as its offensive in the east has ground to a halt, with
rockets hitting an apartment block in Chasiv Yar on Saturday.
At least 19 people have died
in the attack on the town – which is mostly inhabited by workers from the
nearby factories – though rescue efforts are continuing.
Putin’s men recently took two
major cities in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region – Severodonetsk and Lysychansk
– giving them control over the whole of Luhansk.
But since then their attack
has stalled, with Kyiv saying it appears commanders are taking an ‘operation
pause’ to regroup and rearm before attacking again.
However, that has not stopped
Russian artillery units from shelling nearby towns.
The governor of the Luhansk
region said on Monday that shelling hit settlements on the administrative
border with the Donetsk region.
Kremlin forces carried out
five missile strikes and four massive rounds of shelling in the area, Serhiy
Haidai said.
The Luhansk and Donetsk
regions make up Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland known as Donbas, where
separatist rebels have fought Ukrainian forces since 2014.
