MOSCOW, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Russian forces conducted 19 rounds of strikes on Ukraine's key port infrastructure, used for military supplies and fuel storage, in the past week, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday.
The strikes targeted 24 Ukrainian vessels, including 14 dry cargo ships, three ferries, two container ships, a tanker, a cable-laying vessel, a floating dock and two patrol boats, in Odesa, Chornomorsk, Yuzhne and the Dnieper-Bug area, the ministry said.
Russian forces also struck Ukrainian defense industry facilities, ammunition depots, logistics hubs, fuel and energy infrastructure, transport facilities, as well as sites for the production and storage of long-range drones. Temporary deployment sites of Ukrainian armed forces and foreign mercenaries were also hit.
The ministry said Russia had taken control of the village of Bachevsk in Ukraine's Sumy region, which would help expand Russia's security zone along the Kursk border region. ■
