According to local officials, Russian shelling in northern Ukraine resulted in the deaths of four individuals across two villages situated in the Sumy region, which borders Russia. Additionally, a woman lost her life in a recent attack on the already devastated eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka.
The local administration in the Sumy region reported that three individuals perished in a mortar fire incident in the village of Znov-Novohorodske, while a fourth victim was killed in a separate village to the southeast.
Although Reuters was unable to independently verify these reports, officials in the Sumy region have been consistently reporting daily attacks from Russian forces.
In Avdiivka, a town controlled by Ukraine near the front line, the public broadcaster Suspilne stated that a woman succumbed to her injuries after being seriously wounded during mid-afternoon shelling.
Avdiivka, which has been under Ukrainian control since its recapture from pro-Russian forces in 2014, has faced relentless assaults since mid-October. Despite the town's fortifications, virtually none of its buildings remain intact due to the persistent attacks.
The General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces, in its latest report, revealed that Ukrainian troops successfully repelled 13 Russian attacks in and around Avdiivka over the past 24 hours.
Recent days have seen heightened Russian military activity along the extensive 1,000-km-long front line spanning eastern and southern Ukraine, as confirmed by military officials.
On the southern front, military spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk disclosed during a briefing that Ukrainian forces continue to expand their foothold secured in late October on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, despite facing intensified attacks from Russian forces.
Following the February 2022 invasion, Russian forces initially advanced through the Kherson region; however, by the end of the year, they had relinquished control over the region's main town and the western bank of the Dnipro River.
