(Reuters) – Russian shelling killed three people on Saturday in the eastern Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk, the regional governor said, one of the focal points of the advance westward of Russian troops.
Vadym Filashkin, governor of Donetsk region, also wrote on the Telegram messaging app that one person was injured in the Russian attack.
He said one person was injured in Kramatorsk, a town farther north and almost certainly one of Russia’s longer-term targets in Ukraine’s east.
Russian forces have for months focused on advancing on Pokrovsk, a logistics centre and site of Ukraine’s sole colliery producing coking coal — closed down as Moscow’s troops got closer.
But Ukraine’s military has reported success in recent weeks in holding back Russian forces in the area.
(Reporting by Ron Popeski; Editing by Alistair Bell)
