Escalation in Eastern Ukraine: Russian Advances and Casualties Surge

Russian military operations in eastern Ukraine have intensified, leading to at least six fatalities and 10 injuries. Kupiansk and Pokrovsk have been severely impacted, with significant damage to local infrastructure. As Russian forces advance, strategic points like Selydove remain heavily contested.

In eastern Ukraine, Russian assaults have escalated, resulting in six deaths and 10 injuries, regional authorities reported.

In Kupiansk, a northeast town in the Kharkiv region, a thermobaric ammunition strike injured 10, reported Oleh Syniehubov, regional governor, via Telegram. A woman in critical condition succumbed to injuries after being hospitalized.

Further damage included a two-storey retail building, a dozen kiosks, and shattering windows of nearby homes. Kupiansk, initially occupied by Russian forces in 2022, saw them pushed out in September during a rapid Ukrainian counter-offensive. Presently, Russian troops are advancing, drawing near the town's outskirts.

Additionally, Russian shelling claimed three lives in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region's strategic hub, Gov. Vadym Filashkin wrote on Telegram. He later detailed on Facebook that a Nova Poshta delivery service branch in Oleksiyevo-Druzhkiva was hit, killing two. The towns Chasiv Yar and Kostyantynivka lie near this location.

According to Russian media and war bloggers, forces have penetrated Selydove, a coal mining town southeast of Pokrovsk. Ukraine's General Staff acknowledged fierce Russian assaults on the Pokrovsk front, particularly near Selydove, but didn't confirm if Russians entered the town.

(With inputs from agencies.)