MELITOPOL, May 5. /TASS/. The Ukrainian armed forces in early May launched massive strikes on the Zaporozhye Region’s settlements near the line of engagement as they probe the defenses of Russian forces ahead of a planned offensive, Vladimir Rogov, chairman of the 'We Are Together with Russia’ movement, told TASS on Friday.

On May 1, the Ukrainian military opened fire on Mikhailovka, killing three people and wounding 16, and Tokmak, killing five civilians and wounding 15. Vasilievka was also shelled, but there were no casualties. On Thursday, the Ukrainian military shelled the town again, and authorities reported casualties.

"They are probing, checking where they can stick their noses in, where they can act <...>. They are watching our speed of response, the placement of air defense [systems], the location of hidden guards and security points. At the same time, their agents are also monitoring the situation: they are watching from the outside to see what happened, who reacted, how fast we arrived," he commented on the increased frequency of shelling of the Zaporozhye Region by the Ukrainian forces in recent days.

According to Rogov, the Ukrainian military tries to inflict as much damage on civilians as possible. "A strike of two or three shells is made so that it leads to casualties, accordingly [they hit] residential buildings, places where people gather. Emergency services arrive, ambulances, firefighters, who begin to help the victims. And at the moment when the maximum number of people is gathered at the scene, more shells arrive, sometimes even significantly more than the first time. Thus, it is not even the first strike that causes the maximum number of victims, but the second one," he said.

According to the official, the methods of the Ukrainian military are explained by Kiev's desire to intimidate residents and drive them from their land. "To intimidate, so that people don't help, so that there are more victims, so that they leave the territory, so that the emergency services don't work properly. In other words, they are driving people out of the territory in order to seize it," Rogov pointed out.