Russia is keeping up steady bombardment of the northeastern Kharkiv front to tie down Ukrainian forces and prevent them from being used for counter-attacks in other regions, Britain's defense ministry said on Friday.

Kharkiv, some 15 km (9 miles) from Russian front lines, has been consistently shelled since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine as it is within range of most Russian artillery, it said in a daily intelligence bulletin. 

Seventeen people were killed and 42 injured in two Russian attacks in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, on Wednesday and Thursday, the regional Ukrainian governor said. Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians in what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine.