LONDON: Russia's ongoing shelling of Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine, is probably aimed at keeping significant troop numbers there, "to avert them from being employed as a counter-attack force elsewhere", the UK's Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

According to the ministry's latest intelligence report posted on Twitter, at least 12 people were killed by Russian attacks on the city's residential districts on Wednesday.

According to the DPA news agency, it underlined that Kharkiv is reachable by the majority of Russian artillery types.
The defence intelligence update stated that "several rocket launchers and often inaccurate area weapons had wrought havoc throughout significant portions of the city."

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started at the end of February, the British government has regularly published details of its latest intelligence on the conflict.

Earlier, the director of the Medical Department at the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration had told Amnesty International that more than 600 civilians had been killed  and about  1,250 injured in the Kharkiv region since the conflict began. Most of the strikes investigated by Amnesty International inflicted multiple casualties over widespread areas. 

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