Ukraine's Pokrovsk hit by deadly shelling as Russia inches closer

Russian shelling killed one person in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk on Sunday, according to local authorities as Moscow’s troops continued their advancement towards the strategic logistics hub.

The latest escalation follows Ukraine’s renewed appeal to Western nations on Saturday, requesting permission to utilise long-range missiles provided by the West to target locations deep within Russian territory. This plea comes as Ukrainian forces face challenges in repelling Russian advances in eastern Ukraine.

Currently, the United States has only authorised Ukraine to employ American-supplied weapons within a restricted area along Russia’s border with Ukraine. Ukrainian officials emphasize the importance of these weapons in undermining Russia’s capability to launch strikes against Ukraine, thereby compelling Russia to relocate its strike capabilities further away from the border.

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More than 20,000 people have fled the city since August, while Russian strikes over the past two weeks have cut off water and electricity to many of its remaining residents.

Pokrovsk’s military administration said in a post on Telegram " “Around 11 am, the enemy shelled the western part of the city… Unfortunately, one person died,”.

The Ukrainian air force said Sunday it shot down 10 of the 14 drones and one of the three missiles Russia launched overnight.

Oleh Kiper, Odesa’s regional governor, said the two who died in the suburbs of Odesa on Saturday night were a married couple, and that another person was wounded in the attack.

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Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said it downed 29 Ukrainian drones overnight into Sunday over western and southwestern regions, with no damage caused by the falling debris. It also said another Ukrainian drone was shot down Sunday morning over the western Ryazan region.

While Ukraine and Russia regularly launch overnight drone raids on each other’s territory, Ukrainian officials generally do not confirm or deny attacks within Russia’s borders.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took to social media on Sunday to again appeal for a shift in the West’s policy on the use of long-range weapons, noting that Russia had launched “around 30 missiles of various types, more than 800 guided aerial bombs, and nearly 300 strike drones against Ukraine” this week.

“Ukraine needs strong support from our partners to defend lives against Russian terror—air defense, long-range capabilities, support for our warriors. Everything that will help force Russia to end this war," Zelenskyy wrote on X.

With inputs from agencies.