Ukrainian forces fighting to stop a new Russian attack aimed at creating Putin's planned “buffer zone.”
Russian forces attempted an armored ground invasion of Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region with artillery and guided aerial bombs, Ukrainian officials said.
On Friday, Ukraine's Defense Ministry said Russian forces attempted to breach Ukrainian defenses near the city of Vovchansk with “armored vehicles” at 5 a.m. (02:00 GMT), attacking an area near the border with strikes. air. The assault was repulsed, but “battles of varying intensity” continued, he said.
A senior Ukrainian military source told the Reuters news agency that Russian forces had advanced one kilometer (0.6 miles) into the region. Their goal, he said, was to advance up to 10 kilometers (six miles) to establish the buffer zone that Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to create earlier this year as a means of stopping Ukrainian attacks on Russian border regions.
Ukraine had previously said it was aware that Russia was massing thousands of troops along the northeastern border. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his forces were prepared for the ground assault.
“Ukraine welcomed them there with troops: brigades and artillery,” he said at a news conference.
Ukraine has sent more forces to the area as reinforcements.
Vitaliy Ganchev, a Russian-installed official in the Kharkiv region, said on the Telegram app that there was “fighting in various parts of the contact line, including border areas,” and called on residents “to be careful and not to go”. shelters without urgent need.”
Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov said authorities were evacuating about 3,000 civilians from Vovchansk, less than five kilometers (three miles) from the border, which had come under heavy shelling.
New front
Ukraine expelled Russian troops from most of the Kharkiv region in 2022, the first year of the war, but after weathering the Ukrainian counteroffensive last year, Russian forces have returned to the offensive and are slowly advancing in the region. from Donetsk, further south.
Fears about the Kremlin's intentions in the Kharkiv region increased in March, when Putin called for the creation of a buffer zone within Ukrainian territory when asked whether he believed it was necessary to take Kharkiv, which borders Belgorod, a Russian province that has been the target of regular attacks from Ukraine.
Since then, Kharkiv, which is particularly vulnerable due to its proximity to Russia, has been hit by airstrikes that have caused significant damage to the region's energy infrastructure.
Friday's attack opens a new front, with Russia reportedly attempting to seize a window of opportunity to make small tactical gains while Ukraine remains outgunned and outmanned.
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly said they need more Western-supplied weapons to resist and ultimately push back Russian troops. On Thursday, Zelenskyy said the US' $61 billion military aid package would change the situation.
Friday's advance toward Kharkiv came as Ukraine began receiving packages of long-delayed U.S. military aid for the first time in weeks. On Friday, a senior Ukrainian military source told Reuters that Ukraine expects U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to be delivered in June-July.
Ukraine's parliament voted Thursday to crack down on draft evaders, as the country faces a severe shortage of soldiers available to fight in more than two years of war.
The bill, backed by a majority of lawmakers but not yet signed into law by Zelenskyy, includes increasing fines for anyone caught trying to avoid the draft and allowing authorities to detain draft evaders for up to three days.
It comes the same week that Parliament passed a bill allowing some convicts to enlist in the army and days before a new mobilization law comes into force, lowering the minimum age for new recruits.
