The regional governor of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine said firing by Russian forces led to the death of at least nine civilians on Tuesday.
Taking to messaging app Telegram, governor Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote in details about the killings. He said three civilians were killed during an aerial bombardment of Avdiivka town, while another three died due to shelling in Vuhledar city. Three more civilian deaths were reported from the town of Lyman due to shelling, he said.
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Earlier in the day, the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said several areas of Donetsk were under constant fire and regional authorities were trying to evacuate civilians from frontline zones.
Russia has continued to deny targeting civilians.
Russia launched a new offensive in eastern Ukraine focused on the Donetsk and Luhansk regions after abandoning an assault on the capital Kyiv at the end of March. Parts of the two regions were already held by Moscow-backed separatists before Russia invaded its east European neighbour on February 24.
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