Russian attack on Myrnohrad in Donetsk Oblast kills at least 1, injures 4

Russian forces attacked the town of Myrnohrad in Donetsk Oblast on Aug. 17, killing at least one person and injuring four others, Governor Vadym Filashkin said.

Myrnohrad lies just east of Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub that has become the main focus of the Russian offensive in Donetsk Oblast in the past months. The town is only some 6 kilometers (3 miles) away from the front line, the local authorities said on Aug. 16.

An unfinished nine-story building came under the Russian attack, according to the governor.

The number of those who were killed and injured may rise as the search operation continues, Filashkin said.

Roughly 46,000 people lived in the town before the full-scale invasion, but many have left due to constant Russian attacks and shifting front lines. About 20,000 people remain in Myrnohrad as of now, Yurii Tretiak, acting head of the town's military administration, said.

The authorities are organizing evacuations, mainly for children and the elderly, but many residents are reportedly leaving themselves due to inceasing Russian attacks in the area.

Myrnohrad is planned to be completely evacuated by the end of August, Tretiak said.

Thousands flee as Russian troops take one Donetsk Oblast village after another

Along a bumpy highway that used to link the cities of Pokrovsk and now occupied Donetsk, used to lie quiet and picturesque towns and villages whose names only locals would know. Yet – Novohrodivka, Selydove, Petrivka – are now well-known in Ukraine, stuck between the advancing Russ…

The Kyiv IndependentEmmanuelle Chaze