Russia strikes hit north Ukraine, villages evacuated

• Several villages evacuated due to the fire risk following the attacks.
• The area has largely been spared the destruction.
• The Russian army retreated from the area in April.

Russian strikes hit a town in northern Ukraine on Monday, with several villages evacuated due to the fire risk following the attacks, local authorities said.

“The enemy hit Pryluky with rocket strikes,” Vyacheslav Chaus, governor of the northern Chernigiv region, said on Telegram.

“Information on the destruction is being clarified,” he said.

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He did not say what infrastructure was targeted nor whether there were any casualties.

Pryluky, which lies about 150 kilometres (90 miles) east of Kyiv, has a military airfield.

Following the strikes, the authorities ordered the evacuation of four nearby villages, Sergiy Boldyrev told local news outlet Suspilne.

“After the missile strikes, there’s a risk of fire spreading,” he said.

In April, two months into its invasion of Ukraine, the Russian army retreated from the northern Chernigiv region.

Except for a May 17 strike on a military base in the area, which Kyiv said killed 87 people in one of the worst attacks since Moscow invaded on February 24, the area has been largely spared the destruction now focused on eastern Ukraine.

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