Ukraine shelling kills nine in occupied south: local official

Ukrainian shelling of the Russian-occupied part of the southern Kherson region killed nine people Friday, the Moscow-installed occupational authorities said.

The strikes came as Kyiv is pushing a counteroffensive to retake territory from Moscow's forces, focused on the south of the country.

"Nine dead people were pulled out from under the rubble," Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed head of the Moscow-occupied Kherson region, told Russian state television.

Local Moscow-backed official Konstantin Basyuk had earlier put the toll at seven, adding that medics were "fighting for the life" of another two people.

He accused Kyiv of having "attacked civilian infrastructure in the Chaplynskiy district", including the local pensions office and jobs centre.

The town of Chaplynka lies around 100 kilometres (62 miles) south-east of Kherson, the regional capital controlled by Ukrainian forces.

Ukraine retook Kherson from Russian forces last year, but Moscow still controls most of the Kherson region.

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