Three dead in Russian attacks on eastern Ukraine

Three people, including a 12-year-old boy, were killed in Russian attacks in eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces say they have made steady advances in recent weeks, local authorities said on Monday.

The head of the Donetsk region, which the Kremlin says it annexed in late 2022, said two people were killed and another injured in Russian attacks on the village of Mykhailivka.

“Among the dead is a 12-year-old boy,” official Vadym Filashkin announced on social media, describing two airstrikes 30 minutes apart that damaged several houses.

In addition, one person was killed and two others injured in a Russian missile attack in the northeastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, where Moscow’s forces recently captured several villages, the governor said.

Kharkiv borders Russia and has been under constant fire since the Kremlin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. At the beginning of last month, Russian forces launched a new ground offensive there.

Around midnight local time, Russia also targeted Slobozhanske, southeast of the Kharkiv regional capital, said Governor Oleg Synegubov.

“Houses were damaged. One man died. Another man and a woman were injured,” Synegubov said on social media.

Washington last week granted Ukraine limited permission to use US weapons to attack some military targets on Russian territory, part of Kyiv’s efforts to deter attacks on the Kharkiv region.