Ukrainian forces were confronted by a fresh wave of Russian attacks across the front line in the east over the past 24 hours as Moscow struck civilian and infrastructure targets, killing at least six civilians, Kyiv said, as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed to do "everything" to defeat Russia's aggression this year.
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Ukrainian forces repelled 11 attacks in three eastern regions -- Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kharkiv -- the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said in its daily report on February 21, adding that the main targets of Russia's offensive remain the Donetsk towns of Bakhmut, Lyman, and Avdiyivka, and Kupyansk in Kharkiv.
In Kupyansk, a missile strike damaged a hospital, a factory, and residential buildings.
The Russians carried out six missile and 28 air strikes on the civilian infrastructure of Donetsk, Zaporizhzya, and Kherson regions and executed 86 attacks from rocket-launcher systems, Kyiv said.
Russian shelling of residential areas in Kherson killed six civilians and wounded 12 others, regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin wrote on Telegram on February 21.
"Kherson is under fire, probably Grad [missiles]. About 20 explosions, Prokudin wrote. "At the moment, we know of six dead and 12 wounded. The data is being verified," he wrote, adding several apartment buildings had sustained significant damage.
In Donetsk, regional Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said Russian forces used air power against frontline cities. A total of 15 cities and villages have been shelled over the past 24 hours, Kyrylenko said.
In the Kharkiv region, some settlements close to the Russian border came under fire. As a result of shelling, civilian residential buildings, schools, and shops were destroyed and damaged, and there are dead and wounded, the General Staff said.
The British Defense Ministry noted in its daily intelligence bulletin that last month saw an escalation of Russian bombardments that indiscriminately targeted schools and hospitals.
"Throughout January 2023, there was a very high intensity, and worsening trend, of damage being inflicted on both medical and educational facilities," British intelligence said on February 21.
"These incidents, and continued civilian casualties are likely largely due to Russia’s lack of discrimination in the use of artillery and other area weapon systems," it said.
As the one-year mark of Russia's ongoing invasion approached, Zelenskiy told Ukrainians in his regular evening video address that he and U.S. President Joe Biden -- who made a morale-boosting visit to Kyiv on February 20 -- discussed what was needed to defeat Russia's invasion this year.
"Right now, and precisely in Ukraine, the fate of the world order, which is based on rules, humanity, and predictability, is being decided," Zelenskiy said. "Today, President Biden and I talked, in particular, about how to do everything this year for our victory in the war started by Russia. [A war] started nine years ago [that turned] full-scale last February.
"We must do everything so that this year we can put an end to Russian aggression, free our occupied territories, and provide reliable guarantees of security both to our state and to all the peoples of Europe who want to live freely and in peace," he said.