KIEV: Russian armed forces shelled a structure in the eastern Ukrainian town of Toretsk, Ukrainian emergency service officials said on July 18.

"Five dead people's remains were found and rescued. One of the three victims who were pulled from the rubble and sent to the hospital later died, "The declaration read. The service announced the conclusion of the search for survivors and shared images on social media of rescue workers sifting through debris and what was left of the destroyed structure.

About 50 kilometres south of Kramatorsk, one of the remaining Ukrainian-controlled cities in the industrial east, is Toretsk, a town with a population of 30,000 people.

On July 17, a military official from Ukraine claimed that as a result of orders from Moscow to intensify military activities, Russia was getting ready for the next phase of its invasion of Ukraine. He said that while attacks were also being carried out in the centre, northeast, and south of Ukraine, Moscow's main objective was to completely annex the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces in the east, which make up the Donbas.

"There is indeed a certain activation of the enemy along the entire front line. Clearly, preparations are now underway for the next stage of the offensive,” it said.

Kyiv has said in recent days that its forces are preparing for a massive counter-offensive to reclaim land earlier lost, especially in the south.

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