Russian attacks on eastern Ukrainian cities kill four, officials say


June 16 (Reuters) - Russian ⁠attacks on cities in Ukraine's east and ⁠southeast killed four people and set ablaze a ‌residence and a shopping centre, officials and prosecutors said late on Tuesday.

Prosecutors in the Donetsk region, the focal point of ​Ukraine's front line, said three people ⁠died in two ⁠bomb attacks in the city of Sloviansk. Five people ⁠were ‌injured.

Sloviansk is part of the country's "fortress belt," heavily defended by the military and seen ⁠as key to containing a slow-moving Russian ​offensive in ‌Donetsk.

In the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, national ⁠police said ​a wave of dozens of drones killed one person in his car and injured seven others.

Pictures posted ⁠online showed flames inside a building ​and on a rooftop and at least one facade reduced to rubble.

Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said there had ⁠been five strikes on the city. He said fire broke out in a residence and a shopping centre, and an educational institution sustained damage.

Reuters could ​not independently verify the reports. ⁠Russia and Ukraine deny deliberately targeting civilians in ​the war that started with Russia's ‌full-scale invasion of Ukraine in ​2022.

(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleksandr Kozhukhar; Editing by Mark Porter and Jamie Freed)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Others Also Read