Russian rockets struck the southern Ukrainian city of Nikopol on Saturday, killing two people and bringing the death toll since Thursday to around 40, Reuters reports.
The same day, Russia's defense ministry confirmed that Russian forces have been ordered to increase rocket attacks against Ukrainian cities.
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A spokesperson for Ukraine's defense ministry said Friday that only 30 percent of Russian missile attacks were striking military targets.
Meanwhile, in the Donbas, "Russian forces are likely emerging" from a 10-day "operational pause," the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War assesses. Having secured full control of Luhansk Oblast, invading forces appear to have set their sites on the city of Slovyansk.
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