Ukraine shoots down dozens of drones/ 3 killed by Russian attacks in Donetsk

2024-08-19 09:30:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Russian shelling in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region has killed three people and wounded nine others, the head of the regional military administration, Vadym Filashkin, said on August 19.

He said that the murders were reported in Mirnograd, Toretsk and Rozliva.

Separately, Russia launched 11 Shahed drones towards Donetsk and several other regions, including Kiev, but the Ukrainian air force said it shot them all down.

A day earlier, Russia launched about 16 missiles and drones against targets in Ukraine.

Kiev has said that the Russians fired two KN-23 ballistic missiles and three cruise missiles.

Thirteen drones and missiles were shot down, while three others failed to reach their targets, the army said.

The attacks were carried out as Ukraine tries to strengthen its position in Russia's Kursk region, nearly two weeks after launching a surprise counteroffensive on Russian territory.

Ukrainian troops have struck two key bridges on the Sejm River in Kursk, which analysts say is a key tactic to bolster the Ukrainian offensive in Kursk as Moscow struggles to supply the army south of the river.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has said that the Ukrainian operation in Kursk is "causing losses to the Russian army, but also to the Russian state, the defense industry and its economy".

He said in an address on August 18 that the commander of the Ukrainian army, General Oleksandr Syrskiy, told him that the situation on the front line is showing "good results" in all directions.

In addition, he said that "good results are being shown in the destruction of Russian equipment near Toretsk", a town in the Donetsk region.

The war in Ukraine started on February 24, 2022.

Russian President Vladimir Putin calls the war a "special military operation" to demilitarize Ukraine.

The West has responded to Russia, hitting the economy of this country with harsh sanctions.

As a result of the war, thousands of people have died and millions more have been displaced from their homes./ REL