Russian Soldiers Ban Mobile Phones, Shoot Ukrainians Who Use Phone 'Too Much'

Russian forces in Ukraine's partially occupied Luhansk region have been shooting people for using phones, Ukrainian officials said.

People in the eastern city of Kreminna have been banned from using phones, and those who talk on their devices "too much" are shot by Russian forces, according to Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai.

The occupiers are blaming residents for the recent explosions at Russian warehouses and ammunition depots, Haidai, who also serves the head of the region's military administration, said in an interview.

"[Russian soldiers] are looking for those who could have informed Ukrainian Armed Forces about the coordinates or simply have photographed the location of the targets," the official was quoted as saying by Pravda.

Ukrainian forces supposedly hit or destroyed nearly 20 Russian ammunition depots in the occupied areas of the Donbas region and the southern part of the country over the last four weeks.

Ukraine has gradually begun a campaign to take out Russia's key military infrastructure following the acquisition of advanced Western artillery and rocket systems, the Kyiv Independent reported.

Strikes on Russian command posts became increasingly frequent since mid-June when Ukraine began using the first of four M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems provided by the United States.

"Ukrainian forces are increasingly targeting Russian military infrastructure with indirect fire and U.S.-provided HIMARS systems deep in occupied territory," the Institute of the Study of War, a U.S.-based defense think tank, said Monday.

"The increased ability of Ukrainian forces to target critical Russian military facilities with Western-provided HIMARS demonstrates how Western military aid provides Ukraine with new and necessary military capabilities," the organization added.

Ukrainian helicopters and even explosives-laden drones have also been responsible for taking out Russian military warehouses, vehicle staging areas and transport ships in occupied territory and the border of Russia, a report by Forbes said.

In addition to the U.S.-supplied HIMARS, Ukraine has also received military equipment from other countries such as Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled guns from Germany and CEASER howitzers from France.

Despite the deliveries, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his aides have urged the West to send more sophisticated weaponry, according to The New York Times.