Ukrainian artillery pounded Donetsk, the largest Russian-controlled city in Donbas. A Ukrainian rocket attack on an ammunition depot was likely to disrupt Russia’s attack on Severodonetsk. Russian missiles hit Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, as well as oil refineries in the northeast and central regions.
Ukraine has stepped up artillery and missile strikes against Russian-controlled parts of the Donbas region, targeting weapons depots and military bases in a bid to stop a Russian offensive, while Moscow has fired new long-range missiles. air defenses — in cities across Ukraine. The Russian-controlled city of Donetsk, the largest city in Donbass, received the worst artillery barracks since the conflict in eastern Ukraine began in 2014. The strikes hit military installations, according to a video of burned ammunition depots released in local social media channels, but also damaged civilian infrastructure. The Russian-appointed mayor of Donetsk, Aleksey Kulemzin, whose office was also hit by the bombing, said five civilians had been killed.
