Four people died in new Russian bombardments on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city which had begun a return to normal life in mid-May, regional governor Oleg Sinegoubov said on Telegram on Thursday.
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Figaro
“
The occupiers are again bombing the regional center
,” Oleg Sinegoubov said.
“
According to preliminary information, seven people were injured and unfortunately four died
,” he added, calling on residents to stay sheltered.
He did not immediately say which buildings or which part of the city had been hit.
But according to an AFP journalist, a residential area in the Pavlové Polé district, in the center-north of the city, was affected.
Relative calm
Since mid-May, relative calm had returned to this metropolis in eastern Ukraine, about fifty kilometers from the Russian border, which had some 1.5 million inhabitants before the war.
Russian forces had ceased their offensive on Kharkiv, to concentrate more troops in the east and south of Ukraine, and the city was beginning a difficult return to normal, notably reopening the circulation of the metro.
After Thursday's bombardment, the mayor, Igor Terekhov, clarified that the metro would continue to carry passengers, but avoid areas at risk of bombardment.
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But the Russian forces keep positions east of the city, firing on its eastern part and on the neighboring villages, noted AFP.
The Ukrainians for their part dug new trenches around the city and installed concrete blocks, sandbags and road checkpoints, in view of a possible new Russian attack.