Russian forces bombarded Ukrainian towns and villages on the west bank of the Dnipro river, which marks the front line between the warring sides in the southern Kherson region, pounding the area with more than 400 shells fired from tanks and artillery while also dropping explosives from drones, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday.

The attacks may be a sign that Russia is trying to interfere with preparations for a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the south, which senior Ukrainian military and political leaders say will get underway by summer at the latest.

The city of Kherson and neighbouring communities have been targeted by Russian shelling since Ukrainian forces drove them from the area in November, but daily Ukrainian military reports of attacks have indicated a marked increase in the intensity of assaults in recent weeks.

While Ukrainian officials release daily updates on Russian strikes that hit civilian targets, they do not release details about any damage to military equipment or concentrations of troops.

At least one person was killed and six more wounded in the Russian attacks on the Kherson region over the past24 hours, Ukrainian officials said. Moscow “carried out 93attacks, launching 412 shells and rockets from heavy artillery and Grad multiple-launch rocket systems over the last day”, Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of the Kherson regional military administration, said in a statement.

Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesman for the Ukrainian military in the region, said the Russians were bombarding “solely to terrorise and demonstrate military presence”.

New York Times Service