Russian attacks claim lives as Ukraine counteroffensive makes gains

Kiev [Ukraine], October 9: Russia's latest wave of missile and artillery strikes on Ukrainian territories killed and injured several people over the weekend, local authorities said on Sunday, as British officials said Ukrainian forces were making gains with their counteroffensive.
A 46-year-old woman and a 71-year-old man were killed in Russian aerial attacks, local authorities in the Zaporizhzhya region said on Sunday. A further two people were injured in the incident, which took place on Saturday.
In Kherson, 11 people, including a nine-year-old girl, were injured in Russian artillery fire targeting residential areas late on Saturday night, Ukrainian authorities said, noting that a Red Cross worker was among the injured and had been taken to a hospital.
Meanwhile in Donetsk, a Russian cruise missile injured a nine-year-old child and three other people when it hit the city of Kostyantynivka, according to a statement by the Ukrainian prosecutor's office. Ten residential buildings, several properties, a gas pipeline and the electricity grid were damaged in the attack.
Ukraine has been defending itself against Russia for almost 20 months. In the current counteroffensive, Kiev's armed forces, supported by Western military aid, have been able to recapture some territory.
Nevertheless, large parts of the regions of Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, Donetsk and Luhansk are still occupied. With its counteroffensive, Ukraine also wants to recapture the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014.
According to British Defence Ministry officials, Ukraine has succeeded in reclaiming territory in the eastern Donetsk region.
Source: Qatar Tribune