Three people have been killed in the border region between Russia and Ukraine, according to officials, as the two sides launched attacks on each other in the latest exchange of fire.
In Russia, two civilians were killed and two wounded in the Bryansk region after Kyiv struck the settlement of Suzemka with artillery, Acting Governor Egor Kovalchuk said on Telegram.
A drone also hit an apartment building in Russia’s central region of Tatarstan, injuring three people, while industrial facilities were hit, regional head Rustam Minnikhanov said. Production work was not suspended, he added.
Russia’s city of Togliatti, home to the country’s biggest carmaker Avtovaz, also came under a drone attack overnight, Samara region Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said on Telegram.
These strikes are what Ukraine refers to as a “logistics lockdown”, said Al Jazeera’s Audrey MacAlpine, reporting from Kyiv. She explained that they are mid-range strikes targeting oil refineries, bridges, logistics, and roads to halt Russia’s front-line operations.
At the same time, Ukraine also launches what it calls “long-range sanctions” against Russian oil refineries and the oil industry, a term that has escalated over the past several months.
In Ukraine, a drone attack in the border region of Sumy caused casualties. A 44-year-old woman working as a rail station operator died on her way to a shelter, according to the head of Ukrainian Railways. Another woman was wounded.
Three people were wounded in separate attacks on Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv region.
In recent months, Kyiv has carried out an increasing number of attacks on Russia and Russian-occupied territories. On Thursday, fuel stations on the Russian-held Crimean Peninsula ran out of petrol after a Ukrainian campaign against the peninsula’s supply lines escalated.
Witnesses in Sevastopol and Yevpatoriya reported long queues and fuel shortages. Ukraine has been intensifying drone attacks on supply lines to Crimea, which Russia seized in 2014. Local authorities have imposed fuel rationing, with some foodstuffs also running short.
Source: www.aljazeera.com