Russian attacks continue in Kharkiv and Bakhmut in Ukraine

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian shelling destroyed homes and killed one person in northern Ukraine’s Kharkiv province, the region’s governor said Sunday, as fighting continued in the city east of Bakhmut.

The city of Kupiansk is about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Russian border; the area has been the target of frequent attacks despite the withdrawal of Russian ground forces from the area nearly six months ago. Governor Oleh Syniehubov said at least five houses were razed in the latest attack which killed a 65-year-old man.

Two civilians were killed in Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said. Russian forces have been trying to capture the city for months and the area has witnessed some of the bloodiest ground fighting of the war.

In recent days, Ukrainian units have destroyed two strategic bridges on the outskirts of Bakhmut, including one leading to Chasiv Yar, a town on a major Ukrainian supply line.

According to the Institute for the Study of Warfare, a Washington-based think tank, kyiv’s actions could signal an imminent withdrawal from parts of the city.

Capturing Bakhmut would not only give Russian fighters an unusual advantage on the battlefield after months of setbacks, but could also disrupt Ukrainian supply lines and allow Kremlin forces to break into other Ukrainian strongholds in the province from Donetsk.

In southern Ukraine, a woman and two children died in a residential building in the village of Poniativka, Kherson region. A Russian shell hit a car in Burdarky, another village in Kharkiv province, killing a man and his wife.

Casualties increased due to an attack earlier in the week. Ukraine’s emergency services reported on Sunday that the death toll from the Russian missile attack that hit a five-story building in southern Ukraine on Thursday has risen to 13.