Days after President Vladimir Putin said the war in Ukraine had not "started in earnest yet," Russia told its military Saturday that the time has come. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered troops to "further intensify" the fight "in all operational sectors." Ukraine quickly reported increased attacks in the eastern Donbas region, the New York Times reported. The defense ministry said the order was given "to exclude the possibility of the Kyiv regime to launch massive rocket and artillery strikes on civilian infrastructure and residents," per the Washington Post.
Russia followed up the announcement by launching missiles and shells at cities and towns across Ukraine on Saturday, per the AP. Ukraine said at least 17 civilians were killed. In the city of Chuhuiv, 75 miles from the Russian border, an apartment building, a school, and administrative buildings were struck in the middle of the night, officials said, killing three people. In the Donetsk region, a woman said a neighbor in the city of Pokrovsk was killed in her front yard by a rocket Saturday afternoon. The neighbor, 35, had evacuated as requested months ago but returned when she couldn't support herself. "We can rebuild, but we can't bring her back," another neighbor said.
The Pentagon estimated Friday that as many as 150 Ukrainian civilians have been killed in the airstrikes in the past two weeks. Ukrainian defense officials said only 30% of Russian missile strikes are against military targets, per CNN. In his video address, President Volodymyr Zelensky told Ukrainians on Saturday that the Russian warnings of more attacks are intended to divide them. "It's clear that no Russian missiles or artillery will be able to break our unity," he said. (More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)
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