Deadly shelling in Ukraine’s Pokrovsk as Russia inches closer

KYIV, Ukraine: Russian shelling killed one person in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk on Sunday, local authorities said, as Moscow’s troops inched closer to the key logistics hub.

More than 20,000 people have fled the city since August, while Russian strikes over the past two weeks have cut off water and electricity to many of its remaining residents.

“Around 11 am (0800 GMT), the enemy shelled the western part of the city... Unfortunately, one person died,” Pokrovsk’s military administration said on Telegram.

Moscow also fired artillery rounds at a building near a petrol station in the city earlier in the day, it said, but did not give details about the damage. Russia has been advancing towards Pokrovsk for months, getting to within 10 kilometres (six miles) of its eastern outskirts, according to the local administration.

The city lies on the intersection of rail and road routes that supply Ukrainian troops and towns across the eastern frontline and has long been a target for Moscow’s army.

Russian strikes damaged two overpasses in the city earlier this week, including one that connected Pokrovsk to the neighbouring town of Myrnograd, local media reported.