Fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces has decimated the village of Ocheretyne in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
Drone footage obtained by AP, a US news agency, shows that most houses and apartment buildings in Ocheretyne are damaged beyond repair. Not a single person is seen in the clip.
Moscow’s army has launched a costly – but creeping – advance in the area, pounding Kyiv’s depleted forces with artillery, drones and bombs.
Critical Ukrainian shortages of equipment from the West, especially the US, have “likely helped” Russian forces on the battlefield, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
Kyiv has admitted that Russia has gained a “foothold” in Ocheretyne, which had a population of about 3,000 before the war. Fighting continues, however.
Residents have scrambled to flee the village. One was a 98-year-old woman who walked almost 10 kilometres alone last week, wearing a pair of slippers and supported by a cane, until she reached the Ukrainian front lines.
Strikes in Kharkiv
Meanwhile, Russia has ramped up attacks on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, in an attempt to pummel the region’s energy infrastructure and terrorise its 1.3 million inhabitants.
Dr Jade McGlynn, Research Fellow in War Studies at King’s College London, previously told Euronews that behind Moscow’ “terror” campaign lies a clear objective.
“The ultimate intention is to break the will of the population so that they will at some point give in and accept Russia,” she explained, claiming it was personally “directed” by the Russian President.
“Putin believes the West will give up and Ukrainians will just be grateful for an end to the terror.”
Four people were wounded and a two-story civilian building was damaged and set ablaze overnight after Russian forces struck Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine, with exploding drones, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said Saturday.
The four, including a 13-year-old, were hurt by falling debris, he said on the Telegram messaging app.
Ukrainian forces hit Russian-held areas
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed early on Saturday that its forces overnight shot down four US-provided long-range ATACMS missiles over the Crimean Peninsula, illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014.
The ministry did not provide further details.
Ukraine has recently begun using the missiles, provided secretly by Washington, to hit Russian-held areas.
A military airfield in Crimea and in another area east of the occupied city of Berdyansk have been hit, according to US officials.
Long sought by Ukrainian leaders, the new missiles give Ukraine nearly double the striking distance – up to 300 kilometres – than it had with the mid-range version of the weapons it received from the US last October.