Intense fighting rages in Ukraine's Donbas region - Reuters

KYIV, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Russian and Ukrainian forces are engaged successful dense warring astir 2 towns successful Ukraine's eastbound Donbas region, portion Kyiv came nether onslaught from Russian drones aboriginal connected Monday, officials said.

Fighting was aggravated this play successful Donetsk and Luhansk, which marque up the concern Donbas, and the Kherson state successful the south. They represent 3 of the 4 regions Russia said it had annexed past period aft holding what it called referendums – votes that were denounced by Kyiv and Western governments arsenic amerciable and coercive.

"The cardinal blistery spots successful Donbas are Soledar and Bakhmut," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said successful his nightly code connected Sunday. "Very dense warring is going connected there."

Bakhmut has been a people of Russian forces successful their dilatory determination done the portion since taking the duplicate concern towns of Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk successful June and July. Soledar is conscionable northbound of Bakhmut.

Russia's defence ministry said connected Sunday its forces had repelled efforts by Ukrainian troops to beforehand successful the Donetsk, Kherson and Mykolaiv regions. Russia besides said it was continuing aerial strikes connected subject and vigor targets successful Ukraine.

Reuters was not capable to independently verify the reports connected the fighting.

Away from the beforehand line, Ukraine's superior of Kyiv was attacked connected Monday by alleged kamikaze drones, Andriy Yermak, caput of the president's staff, wrote connected the Telegram messaging service.

"Russians deliberation it volition assistance them," Yermak said.

Kyiv's Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said connected Telegram that respective blasts had rocked the cardinal Shevchenkivskyi territory of Kyiv, with a Reuters witnesser reporting 3 explosions.

The aforesaid territory was deed by explosions a week ago, arsenic Russia ordered the biggest aerial violative against Ukrainian cities successful retaliation for a blast connected a span linking mainland Russia to Crimea - the peninsula Russia annexed from Ukraine successful 2014.

Ukrainian subject expert Oleh Zhdanov suggested the heaviest warring was occurring northbound of Bakhmut, asserting that Ukrainian forces had repelled Russian advances connected the towns of Torske and Sprine successful the past 24 hours.

"(The Russians) person decided to determination done Torske and Sprine," Zhdanov posted online. "Positions successful those places are changing hands regularly."

The caput of the Russian-backed medication successful the Donetsk portion said connected Sunday Ukrainian shelling had damaged the medication gathering successful the determination capital.

"It was a nonstop hit, the gathering is earnestly damaged. It is simply a occurrence cipher was killed," said Alexei Kulemzin, surveying the wreckage, adding that each metropolis services were inactive working.

There was nary contiguous absorption from Ukraine to the onslaught connected Donetsk city, which was annexed by Russian-backed separatists successful 2014 on with swathes of the Donbas.

Rybar, a pro-Russian subject transmission connected Telegram, said Ukrainian forces again shelled the southwestern municipality of Belgorod, adjacent Ukraine.

Anti-aircraft units intercepted astir of the attacks, but determination were 2 explosions adjacent the airport. Three radical were injured, it said.

GUNMEN OPEN FIRE

In Russia, authorities said connected Sunday, a transgression probe had been opened aft gunmen shot dormant 11 people and wounded 15 astatine a subject grooming crushed successful the Belgorod region.

Russia's RIA quality agency, citing the defence ministry, said 2 gunmen opened occurrence with tiny arms during a grooming workout connected Saturday, targeting unit who had volunteered to combat successful Ukraine. RIA said the gunmen, who it referred to arsenic "terrorists", were changeable dead.

Russia's defence ministry said the attackers were from a erstwhile Soviet republic, without elaborating. A elder Ukrainian official, Oleksiy Arestovych, said the 2 men were from the chiefly Muslim Central Asian republic of Tajikistan and had opened occurrence connected the others aft an statement implicit religion.

Reuters was not instantly capable to corroborate the comments by Arestovych, a salient commentator connected the war, oregon independently verify casualty numbers and different details.

The shooting successful Belgorod was the latest stroke to Russian President Vladimir Putin's "special subject operation" successful Ukraine that started connected Feb. 24.

'SEA IS ON OUR SIDE'

Meanwhile, British subject quality said Russia was facing much acute logistical problems successful the southbound aft the harm to the road-and-rail bridge linking mainland Russia to Crimea caused by the Oct. 8 blast.

A spokeswoman for Ukraine's Southern Military Command said Russian forces were suffering terrible shortages of instrumentality due to the fact that of the harm to the bridge.

Almost 75% of Russian subject supplies successful confederate Ukraine comes crossed the bridge, Natalia Humeniuk told Ukrainian television, adding beardown winds had besides stopped ferries successful the area.

"Now adjacent the oversea is connected our side," Humeniuk said.

Russian officials said the detonation was caused by a motortruck bomb. Putin has branded the blast a "terrorist attack" orchestrated by Ukrainian information services.

Ukraine did not assertion work for the blast but celebrated it.

Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Himani Sarkar; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Robert Birsel

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