Russian attacks killed two elderly women in the town of Ukrainsk in the war-battered eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk on Monday, regional authorities said.
The industrial territory has been the target of Russian firepower over more than two years of conflict and the Kremlin's forces have claimed slow but steady gains there.
Donetsk regional prosecutors said the strike with an Uragan multiple rocket launcher had damaged an administrative building and several homes in the town with a pre-war population of 13,000.
"As a result of the shelling, two women aged 65 and 70 who were on the street suffered fatal injuries," their statement said. Eight civilians were reportedly wounded,
The region's governor repeated a call for civilians to flee.
"Every day in the Donetsk region there are more and more victims of Russian war crimes. It is dangerous to stay here! Be responsible! Evacuate!" Governor Vadym Filashkin wrote on social media.
The Interior Ministry said on Monday that more than 700 residents of the frontline town of Toretsk had evacuated over the last three days.
Russian forces are reported to have made gains near there and stepped up bombardments on the town following a long lull in fighting.
The ministry said some 5,000 people remain in the town, which was estimated to have a pre-war population of around 30,000.
"Many of them are eager to be evacuated," the ministry said.
On Sunday, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed to have captured two villages in the Donetsk region amid escalating its attacks.
The Kremlin claimed to have annexed the Donetsk region along with three others in late 2022 even though its forces were still fighting to control the territory.
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