Russian shelling appears to be increasing in parts of Kharkiv region recaptured by Ukrainian forces last September, as well as in other areas of northern Ukraine.
Kharkiv, Sumy and Luhansk regions: Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional military administration, said two civilians were killed in Dvorichna, a village east of the city of Kharkiv. Russian forces occupy positions on the east bank of the nearby Oskil River.
Further north, close to the Russian border, five people were injured in Russian shelling of the town of Vovchansk, which regularly comes under fire, according to Syniehubov. “At least seven apartment buildings and two private residential buildings were damaged by artillery fire in Vovchansk,” he said on Telegram.
The front lines along the regional border of Kharkiv and Luhansk have seen more Russian shelling in the last month.
The Ukrainian military also reported Wednesday that more than 30 settlements in the regions of Kharkiv and Sumy came under fire, with some of the shelling directed from Russian territory.
“The occupiers continue to shell the border of Sumy region with mortars” 12 times on Wednesday evening in the area of Seredyna-Buda — which is right near the Russian border — according to Operational Command North. No casualties were reported.
Donetsk region: In its daily report, the Ukrainian military’s General Staff said that Russians forces had used air strikes to support troops on the ground near Bakhmut, with nearly a dozen settlements in the area coming under artillery fire.
An unofficial Telegram account of troops in Ukraine’s 46th Brigade, which has been in the Bakhmut area for several weeks, said the Russians had reached a highway northwest of the city and that fighting was continuing there.
The General Staff said there were also air strikes along other parts of the front lines in the Donetsk region, southwest of the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk. That area has seen intense combat involving tanks and artillery in recent weeks as Russian forces have tried to break down Ukrainian defenses.
Kherson region: According to the Ukrainian military, there was also heavy shelling of towns and villages in recently liberated parts of Kherson in the south. It listed 10 areas that had been shelled, including the city of Kherson.
The military also said that in occupied parts of Kherson, Russians are “conducting filtration measures against civilians.” Filtration measures include detention and deportation to Russian territory.
“First of all, this concerns those who worked in Ukrainian state institutions and refuse to cooperate with the Russian occupation administration and go to work. The invaders also threaten that those who do not receive Russian passports by March will automatically be subject to filtration measures,” the military said.
The Ukrainians said they continue to target Russian military hubs behind the front lines. “Over the past day, the aviation of the Defense Forces carried out 21 strikes on the areas of concentration of occupants’ personnel and military equipment and 3 strikes on the positions of anti-aircraft missile systems. …Two areas of manpower concentration, an ammunition depot and a fuel and oil depot,” the General Staff said.
