Russian shelling kills woman Kyiv says, Moscow claims gains

Ukraine said Thursday that Russian shelling in the northern region of Kharkiv had killed an elderly woman, while Moscow announced its forces had taken up improved positions along the frontline.

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The Russian military has said over recent days it is advancing towards Kupiansk, a frontline town that Ukrainian forces captured back from Moscow’s army last year.

The head of the region Oleg Synegubov said that Russian forces had shelled Zaoskillya, a suburb just east of Kupiansk, killing a woman born in 1962.

“Another woman, born in 1963, suffered shrapnel wounds. Medics provided assistance to the injured on the spot,” he wrote on social media.

His announcement came as Russian forces said they had “improved positions” along the frontline near Kupiansk with the support of artillery and aviation forces.

Those reported advances have spurred Ukrainian authorities in Kharkiv to urge vulnerable residents to evacuate.

In the southern frontline in the Donetsk region, Russia said it was fending off attacks from Ukrainian forces near Urozhaine, which Ukrainian forces claimed to have captured earlier this week.

Kyiv launched a long-anticipated counteroffensive in June but has acknowledged tough battles as it struggles to break through heavily fortified Russian positions.

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