Four people were killed on Thursday in instances of shelling in Ukraine, one blamed on Russia’s military, the other on Ukrainian forces, regional officials said.
In Donetsk region, the focal point of Russia’s slow advance westward along the front line, regional Governor Vadym Filaskhin said on Telegram that two people were killed when Russian forces shelled the town of Siversk.
Further south, in a Russian-controlled area of Zaporizhzhia region, two people were killed when the town of Kamyanka-Dniprovska came under Ukrainian fire, the Russia-appointed governor, Yevgeny Belitsky wrote on Telegram.
The town is located on a large reservoir along the Dnipro River, which bisects Ukraine, not far from the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station.
Reuters could not independently confirm battlefield accounts from either side.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian air force said on Thursday that Russia has launched more than 51,000 guided aerial bombs against Ukraine since the start of its full-blown invasion nearly three years ago,
Guided, or glide, bombs are highly destructive and very hard to intercept. The air-launched weapons are conventional, often Soviet-era ordnance that have been fitted with wings and satellite-aided navigation to extend their range and precision.
They are cheaper than ballistic and cruise missiles that Russia also regularly fires at Ukraine, and more abundant.
Their destructive power means they can ravage even strongly fortified Ukrainian defensive positions, which have been steadily crumbling in parts of the east in recent months.
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In 2024 Russia used some 40,000 guided bombs in Ukraine, the air force said in its statement on the Telegram messaging app.
Regions in proximity to the frontlines as well as those bordering Russia are most regularly targeted with these weapons, Ukrainian officials say.
On Wednesday Russia fired two such bombs at a residential area in the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, killing at least 13 people and injuring 113 in the deadliest attack so far this year, officials said.
On Thursday, a guided bomb strike on residential buildings in the southern city of Kherson injured at least six people.
Ukrainian authorities say the most effective way to counteract guided bombs attacks is to target the warplanes carrying them and the airfields where they are stationed.
