Moscow’s troops withdrew from Kherson in November 2022, retreating to the other side of the Dnipro, but they have kept up intense shelling of the city.
In the neighbouring Zaporizhzhia region a Russian strike killed one and wounded 32, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said.
‘Painful moments’
The deadly attack came as Ukraine held a nationwide moment of silence remembering the country’s war dead on Defenders Day, the third since Russia invaded in 2022.
Traffic came to a halt in the capital Kyiv as dozens of residents held portraits of loved ones who had died in the war, some weeping.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the army in a speech to soldiers, acknowledging that his troops had suffered “painful moments” on what he said was a “difficult” path to victory.
“Inside we are all screaming with pain for each fallen hero, screaming with hatred for the evil that has come to our land,” he said.
Neither Ukraine nor Russia disclose how many of their soldiers have been killed in the conflict, but independent estimates put the number in the tens of thousands on each side.
Russia advancing
Russia has been advancing on the eastern front for months, and on Tuesday claimed to capture two more frontline villages including one just 13km from the key Ukrainian supply hub of Pokrovsk.
Responding to reports that Russian troops were closing in on another key Ukrainian-held town, Vugledar, the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin regularly received battlefield reports.
Moscow has pressed ahead even as Kyiv’s forces mount an offensive into the Russian region of Kursk.
Russian authorities have also waged an intense crackdown against dissent at home, announcing Tuesday that they had detained 39 people including children accused of backing “Ukrainian terrorist” groups.
The Ukrainian army is meanwhile suffering from fatigue after more than two and a half years of war and relentless Russian bombardment.
Budget is ‘balanced’
As Moscow pressed ahead in the east, Russia announced plans on Monday to boost its defence budget by almost 30% next year as it drives resources into the Ukraine war.
Russia had already ramped up military spending to levels not seen since the Soviet era, pumping out missiles and drones and paying lucrative salaries to its hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
The latest planned increase in spending will take Russia’s defence budget to 13.5 trillion roubles ($145 billion) in 2025 – more than the outlays on welfare and education combined.
The Kremlin on Tuesday denied that Moscow had skewed its priorities.
“This is a carefully balanced, calibrated budget. The state maintains the fulfilment of social obligations,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Ukraine, which has also been forced to accelerate its military spending, will allocate more than 60% of the country’s entire budget to defence and security next year.
But Russia’s $145b defence budget dwarfs Ukraine’s at $54b, with Kyiv reliant on Western military and financial aid to continue fighting.
