Russian forces begin assault on two key cities in eastern Ukraine

A local resident tries to stop a fire at a neighbour’s house destroyed by a Russian attack in Mykolaiv, Ukraine (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)

Russian forces have begun an assault on two key cities in the eastern Donetsk region and kept up rocket and shelling attacks on other Ukrainian cities, including one close to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Ukrainian officials said.

Both cities of Bakhmut and Avdiivka had been considered key targets of Russia’s ongoing offensive across Ukraine’s east, with analysts saying Moscow needs to take Bakhmut if it is to advance on the regional hubs of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.