An attack on a shopping mall Monday, killing 19 civilians. A missile strike on a sleepy resort town Friday, claiming the lives of at least 21 residents. Cluster bombs Saturday hit a residential block in an industrial hub, leaving four dead.
The pace of Russia’s strikes on civilian targets, often with outdated and imprecise missiles, is picking up, Ukrainian and Western officials as well as Russian analysts say, as its forces run low on more sophisticated weapons in their struggle to make progress in the fifth month of the conflict.
More than 200 missiles were fired on Ukrainian government-controlled territory in the second half of June, more than double the number in the first half of the month, Ukrainian Brig. Gen. Oleksii Hromov said at a news conference Thursday.