The Russian military temporarily halted their ground attacks in eastern Ukraine overnight, the general staff of Ukraine’s military said on Friday.

“In the direction of Izyum, the enemy has not carried out any offensive actions,’’ the general staff wrote in its latest situation report.

It noted that the Russian forces were limiting their activities to reconnaissance and artillery fire.

The area around Izyum, in the Kharkiv region, had been the main focus of Russian troop activities in recent days.

By pushing south, the apparent aim was to encircle Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region.

Other areas along the front also remained relatively quiet, according to the Ukrainian general staff.

It reported artillery fire near Donetsk, but no further attempts to storm the city.

The British Intelligence Service said that Russia’s advances in the Donbas region had been stymied by strong Ukrainian resistance.

“Russian territorial gains have been limited and achieved at significant cost to Russian forces,’’ the Ministry of Defence wrote on Twitter.

The Russian military confirmed on Friday that it had attacked Kiev the previous day, when UN Secretary-General António Guterres visited the Ukrainian capital.

Long-range, high-precision missiles had hit factory buildings of the Ukrainian Rocket Manufacturer, Artem, and the Defence Ministry spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, said without specifying the time.

The attack occurred during Guterres’ visit and also hit a residential building according to the Ukrainian side.

Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Friday that one corpse was retrieved from the rubble and 10 people had been injured. 

(dpa/NAN)