Russian forces continued their bombing of several Ukrainian cities on Sunday July 17, the day after a visit by the Russian Defense Minister to soldiers involved in the offensive in Ukraine. During this visit on Saturday, Sergei Shoigu “gave the necessary instructions to further increase” military pressure, according to the Ministry of Defense, effectively putting an end to the “operational pause” of the Russian army decreed on July 7.
Franceinfo takes stock of the assessment of the situation in Ukraine, on the 144th day of the war.
Several strikes in the Mykolaiv region
Vitaliy Kim, head of the Mykolaiv region, near the Black Sea, denounced Sunday several strikes carried out the day before in the south of this region, as well as on the city itself in the morning.
“Around 03:05, Mykolaiv was hit by heavy shelling. At the moment we are aware of a fire at two industrial enterprises”did he declare.
The governor added that the villages of Shevchenkove, Zoria and Novoruske were also bombed the day before. “Three people died and three were injured in Shevchenkove”he said.
Kharkiv and the Donetsk region targeted
During the night from Saturday to Sunday, missiles hit Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city. “Around three o’clock in the morning, in the Kyivsky district (from Kharkov), one of the floors of a five-storey industrial building caught fire following two missile strikes. A 59-year-old woman was injured and hospitalized.assured the regional governor, Oleg Sinegoubov.
The Donetsk region in the Donbass basin has also been targeted by “the Russians (who) continue to bomb civilian infrastructure, especially educational institutions”said the governor of the region, Pavlo Kyrylenko. “Three missiles hit the community of Toretsk: one hit a residential area, two in Zalizne where a school and a kindergarten were damaged. In Konstantinovka, the Russians shelled a medical faculty. No information on casualties for the moment”he specified.
Pro-Russian separatists have accused Ukrainian forces of firing 60 rockets from Grad multiple rocket launchers at a neighborhood in Donetsk. “Apartment buildings have been affected”they claimed.
New sanctions expected on Monday
EU foreign ministers will discuss tougher sanctions against Moscow on Monday. They will consider a European Commission proposal to ban gold purchases from Russia, to align EU sanctions with those of its G7 partners. Another proposal aims to put new Russian personalities on the EU blacklist.