UK: Russia likely to step up Ukraine civilian target attacks

KYIV Ukraine — Russian shelling struck cities and towns across a large stretch of Ukraine on Sunday night, officials said. The British Defense Ministry warned that Russia will likely increase its attacks against civilian targets as it suffers defeats in battle.

“Russia has increased its targeting civilian infrastructure even though it likely perceives no immediate military impact over the past seven days,” the ministry stated in an online briefing. “Russia has likely increased the number of locations it is willing to strike as it faces setbacks at the front lines in an attempt to undermine the morale and government of the Ukrainian people.” “

Overnight shelling hit a hospital in the city of Mykolaiv, a significant Black Sea port, regional governor Vitaliy Kim said. Two people were also injured by shelling in other parts of the region.

Three were injured in nighttime shelling at Nikopol, which is located across the river from Europe’s largest nuclear power station.

The six-reactor Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which was captured by Russian forces on March 1, is now being operated by Ukrainian engineers. After repeated power outages, the reactor’s last reactor was shut down a week ago. This was due to shelling putting critical safety systems at risk.

In the Kharkiv region, where a Ukrainian counteroffensive forced Russian troops into a massive pullback from much of the region, three people were killed by rocket attacks over the past day, including an 11-year-old girl, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov.

Five people were killed in Russian attacks in Donetsk, one of two regions in Ukraine that Russia recognizes to be sovereign states, Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko stated. On Sunday, separatist forces in Donetsk claimed that Ukrainian shelling at Olenivka’s prisoner-of war colony had killed one and injured four others.

More 50 prisoners were killed in a July attack at Olenivka prison, which was blamed by both Ukrainian and Russian authorities. A Washington-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War said that Russian forces in Donetsk continue conducting “meaningless operations” against villages, instead of strengthening the front line.

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