By Bond Robertson 
The death toll rose after Russian attacks on residential areas of Kharkiv on Wednesday. On Friday, Ukrainian authorities said that 19 people had been confirmed dead and that the search for the rubble was continuing. Among the dead was a child. Police believe there are two more people under the rubble. It’s reports Kyiv Independent.
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Although the front line in this region has not moved much since May, Ukraine’s second largest city is among those suffering the most sustained bombardment since the invasion, according to a situation report from British intelligence Friday.
Extensive damage
Located about 15 kilometers from the front line, Kharkiv had to suffer because it was within range of most of the Russian artillery. Russian air strikes destroyed large parts of the city. According to British intelligence, Russian forces maintain a relatively light grip in the Kharkiv sector, but are trying to conduct local raids and attacks against Ukrainian forces.
Russian forces may be trying to force Ukraine to lock down significant forces on this front to prevent it from moving its forces to counterattack elsewhere, the British believe.
Several other Ukrainian cities, such as Mykolaiv and Odessa, were also attacked on Wednesday. The messages came hours before United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was due to arrive in Ukraine. On Thursday, he held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Lviv.
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Guterres is scheduled to visit Odessa on Friday.
New allegations about Zaporizhzhya
The talks in Lviv were about how to end the war in Ukraine, secure grain exports, and secure Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia. At the same time, Russia and Ukraine are sharing new allegations about the attacks on the nuclear power plant, the news agency reported Reuters.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations said he was deeply concerned about the conditions surrounding the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhya, and demanded the withdrawal of military equipment and personnel from the plant.
The Ukrainian nuclear energy company Enegoatom believes that Russia is planning a major provocation in the region, she wrote Sky News.
On Thursday, Russia threatened to shut down the nuclear power plant if Ukraine did not stop shooting at it, and accused Ukraine of launching a mock Russian attack on the power plant, which the Ukrainian authorities denied.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia is conducting nuclear blackmail with Zaporizhia as a hostage.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after the meeting in Lviv that he had discussed with Guterres and Zelensky how to create an atmosphere for the resumption of peace talks that collapsed in Istanbul in March.
Zelensky refuses peace with Russia without Russia withdrawing its forces from Ukraine.