Russian forces have increased shelling in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, bombarding Ukrainian units trying to challenge their supply lines running into Donetsk, according to Ukraine's military.
Ukrainian officials on Monday reported rocket and artillery attacks against the Chuhuiv district south of the city of Kharkiv. Oleh Synyehubov, head of the Kharkiv region military administration, said at least 10 missiles had been fired from the Russian city of Belgorod.
One of the towns hit was Merefa, at least 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the front lines.
According to Synyehubov, five people were injured in the shelling, four of whom have been hospitalized, with two in a critical condition.
There were also rocket attacks on a residential area of Kharkiv, Synyehubov said.
In the eastern city of Donetsk — the focus of the Russian offensive — the Ukrainian general staff on Monday reported continued artillery fire and airstrikes but said several ground assaults by Russian forces had been repelled. Ukrainian officials reported shelling of the cities of Sloviansk and Kostiantynivka, as well as Bakhmut and surrounding villages.
Geolocated videos show Russian forces moving through an industrial plant on the edge of the town of Soledar, a target of Russian attacks for many weeks.
In the far north of Ukraine, the Sumy regional military administration reported a sharp uptick in cross-border shelling of the town of Seredyno.
Overall, Russian forces persist with heavy indirect fire in much of Donetsk but have made only marginal territorial gains, the Ukrainian military said.
Southern battles: Across the Dnipro River from the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the towns of Nikopol and Marhanets were again hit by Russian rocket fire, according to the general staff.
Meanwhile, Russian shelling of Ukrainian positions behind the front lines in the Mykolaiv region persists, the general staff added.
In the south, much of the Russian fire is defensive, as they try to disrupt Ukrainian attempts to move forward into Kherson, the general staff said.