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Russian Federation, August 29, 2023

Number Of Civilians Killed By Russian Shelling Mounts In Eastern Ukraine As Fighting Rages

Original source

Radio Free Europe

At least five civilians were killed over the past 24 hours by Russian shelling in eastern Ukraine, a regional official said on August 29 as fighting continued both in the east and southeast, where Ukrainian forces say are continuing to make advances toward the strategic city of Melitopol.

"The Russians killed five residents of the Donetsk region -- two in Dalny, one in Toretsk, one in Lyman, and one in Velyka Novosilka," Donetsk regional Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said early on August 29, adding that another four people were wounded. Kyrylenko said that there were also victims in Mariupol and Volnovas, but their number was impossible to establish at the moment.

The latest toll came a day after three civilians were killed in the eastern region of Poltava by the Russian shelling of an industrial plant and one died in the southern region of Kherson.

On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces and Russian troops were locked in fierce combat in the east and southeast, with a total of more than 30 combat clashes registered over the past day, the General Staff of Ukraine's military said in its daily report on August 29.

"The Defense Forces of Ukraine continue to conduct an offensive operation in the Melitopol direction," the General Staff said, adding that Ukrainian forces were consolidating their gains.

Melitopol, in the Zaporizhzhya region, is a vital transit hub for Russian forces and a key link in its so-called “land bridge” between the Moscow-annexed Crimea and the parts of eastern Ukraine occupied by Russia.

On August 28, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar confirmed that the village of Robotyne, which sits along an important road leading from the town of Orikhiv to Tokmak on the way to Melitopol, has been liberated.