Ukrainian soldiers killed in Russian missile, drone strikes on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, military says
Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in Russian missile and drone strikes on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, the Ukrainian military said on Nov. 2.
On Nov. 1, Russia launched a missile and drone attack on several settlements in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, including Nikopol, Pishchansk, Pokrovsk, Marhanets, and Chervonohryhorivsk.
According to the Operational Task Force "East," the strike resulted in casualties and injuries among Ukrainian military personnel.
"(Russian) systematic attacks on populated areas in the deep rear and in areas close to the line of combat continue," the task force said.
Law enforcement agencies are currently investigating the attack, focusing on whether local military units followed the General Staff's directives regarding air alert warnings, restrictions on open-area gatherings, and the correct use of shelters.
At the moment of publication, the exact number of soldiers killed remains unknown.
"We express our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the fallen defenders of Ukraine," the task force said in a statement. "The Russian aggressor will pay dearly for this crime."
Previously, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Vladyslav Haivanenko reported that four civilians were killed, including an 11-year-old and a 14-year-old, and 6 people were injured in Russian air strikes on Nov. 1.
Russia has broken into Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, a previously unoccupied region of Ukraine, as part of its summer offensive. In late August, battlefield monitors reported that Russian forces had seized villages in the region for the first time.
In turn, DeepState reported that Russia managed to seize a number of settlements near Dnipropetrovsk Oblast's eastern administrative borders while steadily advancing forward in multiple directions.
In the wake of Russia's summer offensive, Ukraine reportedly launched its own "counteroffensive operation" in the east. At least seven settlements were retaken during these attacks, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in September.
Yuliia Taradiuk
