KYIV (AFP) – Kyiv said yesterday it had launched a barrage of rockets and missiles on Russian military targets in southern Ukraine and destroyed an arms depot, in attacks that Moscow-backed authorities said had damaged homes.
The bombardment overnight in the Kherson region – which Russian forces captured soon after they invaded in late February – come as Kyiv’s army tries to claw back territory in the south of the country.
Ukrainian military officials said the strikes had destroyed artillery, armoured vehicles “and a warehouse with ammunition in Nova Kakhovka”.
Russian-backed authorities in the city however said Ukrainian strikes had damaged civilian infrastructure and left at least seven people dead, a toll that could not be independently verified.
“There are no military targets here… warehouses were hit, as were shops, a pharmacy, petrol stations and even a religious,” the head of the city’s Moscow-backed administration Vladimir Leontiev said on social media.
Images published by the Moscow-backed authorities showed several buildings reduced to ash.
The Ukrainian army has for several weeks been waging a counter-offensive on the southern Kherson front, while Russian troops have been focusing on the country’s east.
