Russian shellings kill four in Ukraine

 

In this photo provided by Ukraine's 65th Mechanised Brigade press service on Jan. 8, 2025, a Ukrainian serviceman trains at the polygon in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine.

Four people were killed in shellings in Ukraine on Thursday, regional officials said.

In Donetsk region, where Russia is slowly advancing westward, regional Governor Vadym Filashkin said on Telegram that two people were killed by Russian shelling in the town of Siversk.

Farther south in a Russian-controlled part of the Zaporizhzhia region, two people were killed when the town of Kamyanka-Dniprovska came under Ukrainian fire, the Russia-appointed Governor Yevgeny Belitsky said on Telegram.

VOA could not immediately verify either report.

Ukraine’s military said earlier Thursday it shot down 46 of 70 drones that Russian forces used in attacks targeting areas in central and eastern Ukraine

Falling debris from downed drones damaged houses in the Cherkasy, Kharkiv and Sumy regions, the Ukrainian air force said.

Ukraine’s air defenses also shot down drones in the Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Kyiv, Mykolaiv and Poltava and regions.

The attacks came a day after Russian missiles struck the city of Zaporizhzhia, killing at least 13 people and wounding 30 others.

“There is nothing more cruel than launching aerial bombs on a city, knowing that ordinary civilians will suffer,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday.

Russia has launched more than 51,000 guided aerial bombs against Ukraine since the start of its full-scale invasion nearly three years ago, the Ukrainian air force said on Thursday.

Also on Thursday, Zelenskyy said the potential deployment of allies in Ukraine "is one of the best instruments" to push Russia into peace.

"Let\’s be more practical in making it possible," he said in an address to allies at the Ramstein military base in Germany.

Zelenskyy\’s statement comes as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Thursday that the United States will provide an additional $500 million in military aid to Ukraine.

Separately, U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to unveil new sanctions this week targeting Russia\’s economy, including the oil sector, according to media reports.

Russia\’s Defense Ministry said Thursday it shot down 15 Ukrainian drones, including over the Belgorod, Bryansk and Krasnodar regions along the Russia-Ukraine border.

Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said on Telegram that drone debris damaged a home, but that there were no casualties from the Ukrainian attack.

Some information for this report came from Reuters.

By：VOA