At least two people were killed Thursday when Russian troops shelled the town of Kostiantynivka in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, the regional governor said.

The strike hit a residential district of the town in the morning, Vadym Filashkin said on Telegram.

Ukrainian-held parts of the Donetsk region regularly come under Russian shelling and air strikes. Russian forces control a large part of the region, which Moscow claims along with four other Ukrainian regions as its own territory.

Donetsk also remains one of the hottest areas of fighting as Russia targets areas in the direction of the strategic eastern logistics hub of Pokrovsk.

At least four people were killed in Russian shelling in Donetsk on Wednesday.

Thursday's shelling came as Russian forces battled Ukrainian troops in Russia's Kursk region. The Ukrainian forces smashed through the border three days ago, in what Moscow said was an attempt to force Russia to divert resources from the battle front in Ukraine.