20 July,2022 08:57 AM IST | Kyiv | Agencies
Residents watch a burning building after an air strike hit residences in Kramatorsk on Tuesday. Pic/AFP
Russian forces kept up their bombardment of cities across Ukraine, with intense shelling of Sumy in the north, cluster bombs targeting Mykolaiv and a missile strike in Odesa in the south, authorities said on Tuesday. After failing to capture Kyiv at the outset of the invasion, Russia has shifted to a campaign of devastating bombardments to cement and extend control of Ukraine's south and east.
Ukraine says Russian forces have intensified long-distance strikes on targets far from the front, killing large numbers of civilians. Moscow said it is hitting military targets. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had fired more than 3,000 cruise missiles and uncountable artillery shells during the five-month conflict.
The strike in Odesa injured at least four people while cluster shell strikes in Mykolaiv injured two. More than 150 mines and shells were fired on Sumy, said Ukraine authorities. Ukraine said Russian troops tried to advance towards the city of Avdiyivka, but were pushed back after several days, suffering heavy losses, some 40 dead.
This week could be pivotal for European countries concerned about war and sanctions on gas supplies. Russia is due to reopen its main natural gas pipeline to Germany, Nord Stream 1, i after regular maintenance, but Europeans are worried Moscow amy keep it closed.
ALSO READ
Trump says it was 'stupid' for Biden to let Ukraine use US weapons to strike dee
Trump says it was 'stupid' for Biden to let Ukraine use US weapons to strike deeper into Russia
Ukraine, US say some North Korean troops killed fighting alongside Russian forces
Syria's ousted leader Assad says he wanted to keep fighting but Russian allies evacuated him
Russian presence in Syria remains; but it's unclear for how long
Russian President Vladimir Putin was to visit Tehran on Tuesday for talks with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Kremlin leader's first trip outside the former Soviet Union since Moscow's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. In Tehran, Putin will also hold his first face-to-face meeting since the invasion with a NATO leader, Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan, to discuss a deal aimed at allowing resumption of Ukraine's Black Sea grain exports as well as peace in Syria.
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
