Russia pounds rebel-claimed region, Ukraine pushes back

By FRANCESCA EBEL and MARIA GRAZIA MURRU
Associated Press

KRAMATORSK, Ukraine (AP) — Russia has redoubled its push for Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, with the Ukrainian military claiming to have repelled some advances. Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy says the fighting in Donbas is the most intense in the entire country. The Associated Press on Wednesday saw the bloody aftermath of an attack in a rebel-held Donetsk town. Eyewitnesses say a Soviet-era missile struck a playground outside a residential home, in an attack that local separatists blame on Ukrainian forces. Blood stained the seat of a swing and pooled on the ground below. Russian media cited the separatists as saying two children were killed and three children and two adults were wounded.