Russia to ramp up attacks as rockets pound Ukraine

A local resident, Raisa Kuval, 82, reacts next to a damaged building partially destroyed after a shelling in the city of Chuguiv, east of Kharkiv, yesterday. AFP)

• 40 killed in bombardments since Thursday: Ukraine

Russia said yesterday its forces would step up military operations in Ukraine in “all operational areas” as Moscow’s rockets and missiles pounded cities in strikes that Kyiv says have killed dozens in recent days. Rockets hit the northeastern town of Chuhuiv in Kharkiv region overnight, killing three people including a 70-year-old woman and wounding three others, regional governor Oleh Synehubov said. “Three people lost their lives, why? What for? Because Putin went mad?” said Raisa Shapoval, 83, a distraught resident sitting in the ruins of her home. To the south, more than 50 Russian Grad rockets pounded the city of Nikopol, on the Dnipro River, killing two people who were found in the rubble, the region’s governor Valentyn Reznichenko said. Ukraine says at least 40 people have been killed in such attacks on urban areas in the last three days. Russia says it has been hitting military targets. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered military units to intensify their operations to prevent Ukrainian strikes on eastern Ukraine and other areas held by Russia, where he said Kyiv could hit civilian infrastructure or residents. Shoigu, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, was shown in military fatigues at a command post on the defence ministry’s Zvezda TV channel being briefed on the war and awarding “Golden Star” medals for heroism to two generals. His remarks appeared to be a direct response to what Kyiv says is a string of successful strikes carried out on 30 Russian logistics and ammunitions hubs using several multiple launch rocket systems recently supplied by the West. Late on Friday, Russian missiles hit the city of Dnipro, about 120km north of Nikopol, killing three people and wounding 15, Reznychenko, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region that includes both cities, said on Telegram, adding that an industrial plant and a busy street next to it were hit. “When the blast wave hit, there were few shards because all my windows were taped up,” a local woman who gave her name as Klavdia told Reuters. “I have a small injury on the left of my body but the people whose windows were not protected like this, there was a lot of blood, their injuries were horrible. I saw a small child all covered in blood. It was awful.” Russia said it had destroyed a factory in Dnipro making missile parts.