Russia targets over 100 Ukraine settlements in broadest shelling attack so far
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Tank cars are set ablaze following a recent Russian shelling at a railway junction in Ukraine's Donetsk region, on Oct 31.
PHOTO: REUTERS
KYIV – Ukraine said on Wednesday that Russia shelled more than 100 settlements over 24 hours – more than in any single day so far in 2023.
Moscow has fired millions of artillery shells on Ukrainian cities, towns and villages along the front lines since it launched its offensive in February 2022, reducing several parts across eastern Ukraine to rubble.
“Over the last 24 hours, the enemy shelled 118 settlements in 10 regions. This is the highest number of cities and villages that have come under attack since the start of (2023),” Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said in a post on social media.
Kyiv also reported a Russian attack on an oil refinery in Kremenchuk, a central industrial city.
There were no casualties, but it took almost 100 firefighters several hours to put out the resulting blaze, Mr Klymenko said.
The fire at the refinery, which Moscow has targeted many times during the war and Kyiv says is not operational, was put out quickly, said head of Poltava region’s military administration Filip Pronin. The extent of the damage was not clear.
Kyiv and the West fear Russia will escalate attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure ahead of the cold winter – as Moscow did in 2022.
The overnight shelling in the north-eastern Kharkiv region killed one person, and another was killed in the southern Kherson region, local officials said.
Ukraine’s air force also said on Wednesday it shot down 18 of 20 Russian drones that were launched overnight, while Russia’s Defence Ministry said it shot down two Ukrainian drones over the Bryansk and Kursk regions, which border Ukraine.
“The focus of the attack was the Poltava region. It was attacked in several waves,” air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said on national television. AFP, REUTERS
