Blasts shook Ukraine’s southern city of Mykolaiv on Saturday, as Russia’s artillery helped grind out gains in the east, following a week in which the civilian death toll from Russian missile strikes rose in urban areas far from the frontline.
‘The city is being rocked by powerful explosions! Stay at a shelter!: As air raid sirens wailed, Oleksandr Senkevych, mayor of the Mykolaiv region, which borders the vital Black Sea port of Odesa, posted on the Telegram messaging app.
The cause of the explosions was not immediately known, though Russia later stated that it had struck army command posts in the area. The reports could not be independently verified by Reuters.
According to Kyiv, Moscow has increased missile attacks on cities far from the main battlefields in the country’s east, and has deliberately targeted civilian targets. Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops on the eastern frontlines describe intense artillery barrages that have pounded residential areas.
Russia claims to have targeted military sites but denies targeting civilians. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, ‘Russian Armed Forces do not work with civilian targets.’
The Russian Armed Forces’ Chief of General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, inspected Russian troops involved in what Moscow calls a ‘special military operation,’ according to Russia’s defence ministry, though it was unclear whether he was in Ukraine.
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