Shelling kills civilians in Ukraine as fears grow of a second Russian takeover
The shelling comes as UK officials say Russian forces may try to retake the region.
Russian forces struck a cafe in a key front-line area in north-eastern Ukraine, killing two civilians and wounding a third, regional officials said.
The shelling near the city of Kupiansk came as UK officials said that Russia may try to retake the area, which was captured by Kyiv in a lightning counteroffensive last September after more than six months of Russian occupation.
Fierce fighting there earlier this month prompted mandatory evacuations and fears of a second Russian takeover.
Regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said in a Telegram post that Russian shells on Saturday struck the cafe in Podoly, an eastern suburb of Kupiansk.
He added that rescue teams were working at the site.
Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the Russian defence ministry, said in a regular briefing on Saturday that Moscow’s forces had “improved their position along the front line” in the Kupiansk area and repelled five Ukrainian assaults over the previous day.
He did not give further details regarding any troop movements.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian authorities ordered a mandatory evacuation of nearly 12,000 civilians from 37 towns and villages around Kupiansk, citing a concerted effort by Russian troops to punch through the front line.
After the Russian occupiers left Kupiansk last year, Ukrainian authorities said they found torture chambers and mass graves in the region.
Also on Saturday, a new drone attack on Moscow forced an early-morning temporary shutdown of all three major airports serving the city, Russian state media reported.
Officials blamed Ukraine for what appeared to be the latest of near-daily strikes on the Russian capital and the surrounding region.
Kyiv has sought to take the 18-month-war into the heart of Russia since the start of the year, saying recently that it was behind strikes on Russian military assets far behind the front lines.
Mr Sobyanin said in a Telegram post that there were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage.
According to Russia’s state Tass agency, the Sheremetevo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo airports all suspended flights for over an hour on Saturday.
Russian Telegram channels posted videos, some of them apparently from home security cameras, of what they claimed was Russian air defence downing the drone.
One video shows a car parked outside what appears to be suburban home, its alarm beginning to blare seconds after two loud blasts sound in the distance.
Russia’s defence ministry blamed Ukraine for the attack.
Russia and Ukraine traded multiple drone attacks earlier this week, with Kyiv apparently targeting Moscow and the Kremlin’s forces launching another bombardment of Ukrainian grain storage depots in what have recently become signature tactics.
Also this week, Kyiv claimed it had destroyed a key Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile defence system in occupied Crimea.
Ukrainian media also claimed that Ukrainian saboteurs co-ordinated by Kyiv’s military intelligence services carried out a pair of recent drone attacks that destroyed and damaged bomber aircraft at air bases deep inside Russia.
