"They are probably trying to force Ukraine to maintain significant forces on this front, to prevent them from being employed as a counter-attack force elsewhere," it said in a daily intelligence bulletin.
Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, has been consistently shelled since the start of Russia's invasion as it is within the range of most Russian artillery, according to the defence ministry in London.
"Russian forces hold the Kharkiv sector relatively lightly but continue to conduct local raids and probing attacks against Ukrainian forces," the British defence ministry said in its latest Intelligence Update on the Situation in Ukraine.
Seventeen people were killed and 42 injured in two Russian attacks in Kharkiv on Wednesday and Thursday, the Reuters news agency reported, citing the latest casualty figures released by the regional Ukrainian governor.
Rescuers put out a fire after a Russian missile strike in Kharkiv on Wednesday, August 17, 2022. Photo: EPA/Ukraine State Emergency Service
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has described Wednesday's attack on Kharkiv as a "devious and cynical strike on civilians with no justification," according to Reuters.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Photo: EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO
He said: "We cannot forgive. We will avenge it."
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Source: IAR, PAP, ukrinform.net, Reuters