Ukraine says the Russian military has bombarded a town in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claims Russian President Vladimir Putin wants results before Russia's presidential election, slated for March.
Authorities in Donetsk said Russian forces mounted a missile attack on a residential area in Selydove early on Wednesday morning, killing two people and wounding three others.
Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that Russian assaults are very intense, especially in Donetsk. He also said Putin "wants to show at least some tactical results in the first half of December."
US think tank the Institute for the Study of War said in an analysis on Tuesday, "Russian forces are likely trying to regain the theater-level initiative in Ukraine by conducting several simultaneous offensive operations in eastern Ukraine."
It added, "It remains unclear if Russian forces will be able to fully regain the initiative as Ukrainian forces maintain pressure on critical areas of the front."
The head of Ukraine's presidential office, Andriy Yermak, said during a speech in the United States on Monday that the country's forces have established a foothold on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River. He also said the forces are demilitarizing Crimea step by step. Russia unilaterally annexed the region in 2014.
Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-appointed leader of Ukraine's Kherson region, said on social media on Wednesday that Ukrainian forces are sending large numbers of personnel across the river.