Today, the Ukrainian army denied that Russian forces had entered the suburbs of Chasiv Yar, a city in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, but said that fighting was ongoing in that area, Reuters reports.
"The situation there is very difficult, the fighting continues, but they (Russian troops) are not there," Andriy Zadubinyi, spokesman for the command in eastern Ukraine, told Reuters.
"Don't believe the Russian reports," he said.
Russia's RIA news agency earlier quoted an adviser to the Russian-appointed regional chief as saying that Russian forces were in the suburbs of Chasiv Yar.
Ukrainian army: 13 Russian drones shot down
The Ukrainian Air Force shot down all 13 drones that were used in Russia's nighttime attack on the southern regions, the Ukrainian army announced today, Reuters reports.
"Shahid drones were destroyed over Zaporozhye, Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Russia also used two S-300/S-400 missiles and three Iskander-M ballistic missiles in the attack. One of the attacks was aimed at energy infrastructure in the region Odessa, but air defenses repulsed all four drones," a group of forces in southern Ukraine said on the Telegram messaging app.
Several private residences and agricultural buildings in Zaporizhia were damaged, according to the announcement.
Local officials also reported explosions in an attack in the eastern city of Kharkiv, a regular target of Russian attacks, late Thursday.
The governor of the region, Oleh Sinjehubov, said that four cars and a five-story building were damaged in the attack, and that there were no victims on Friday morning.
Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukraine's grid infrastructure in recent weeks, aiming to disrupt the country's power and energy grid, according to Reuters.
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