???? Live: Ukrainian forces shell village in Russian border region, governor says

Issued on: 02/05/2023 – 08:41

6:56pm: Ukrainian forces shell village in Russia’s Bryansk region, governor says

Ukrainian forces shelled a village in the Russian Bryansk region bordering Ukraine early on Tuesday, the local governor said in a social media post, a day after an explosion derailed a freight train in the region.

“In the morning, the Armed Forces of Ukraine shelled the village of Kurkovichi in the Starodubsky municipal district,” Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz said in a post on his Telegram channel.

“There were no casualties. As a result of the shelling, a fire broke out in one of the households. All emergency services are on site.”

FRANCE 24 was not able to independently verify the report. Ukraine almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia and on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine. The military, however, reports daily on activities and troops movements in battlefield areas.

4:05am: Ukrainian defenders oust Russian forces from some positions in Bakhmut, general says

Ukrainian units have ousted Russian forces from some positions in Bakhmut amid fierce battles, a top Ukrainian general said on Monday, as the White House believes that more than 20,000 Russian fighters have been killed in Ukraine since December.

“The situation (in Bakhmut) is quite difficult,” Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the Ukrainian commander of ground forces, said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

“At the same time, in certain parts of the city, the enemy was counterattacked by our units and left some positions” in recent days, he said.

The 10-month-long battle for the eastern Ukrainian city has taken on a symbolic importance for both sides. It has become the fulcrum of a war that has seen little shift in front lines since late 2022, leaving both sides looking for a breakthrough.

• Key developments from Monday, May 1

A White House official said on Monday that more than 20,000 Russian troops were killed and another 80,000 wounded in five months of fighting in eastern Ukraine, particularly in Bakhmut.

This came after overnight Russian missile attacks on the eastern city of Pavlohrad killed two people and injured 40, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)