Key developments on May 20: * Deputy governor: Ukraine controls around 60% of Vovchansk * General Staff: Ukraine fights off Russian attack near Starytsia village in Kharkiv Oblast * Governor: Ukraine strikes Russian base in occupied Luhansk Oblast * Russian media: Oil refinery in Russia's Krasnodar Krai damaged after drone attack * Estonian PM: NATO
The Kyiv Independent follows one couple who escaped from embattled Vovchansk after losing their house and former life.
Russian forces attacked Vovchansk at around 3:30 a.m. local time, killing a 63-year-old man. The other three men were injured due to the shelling.
Zelensky also said that Ukraine successfully repels Russian assaults in Donetsk Oblast, including the area near the city of Chasiv Yar, which became one of the main strategic targets.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Tereknov said earlier in the day that several houses were destroyed in the attack.
Chasiv Yar, a largely destroyed town, has been seen as Russia’s next target after the fall of Bakhmut, while Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, is also a major Russian target.
Russian forces struck a residential area in the city of Kharkiv on the afternoon of May 18, injuring at least five people, including two children, local officials reported.
Russia's offensive in Kharkiv Oblast this month could be the first of several waves, and Russian forces may try for the regional capital of Kharkiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with AFP on May 17.
The death toll of a Russian attack on the city of Kharkiv on May 17 has risen to four as an injured 33-year-old man died in the hospital, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported on May 18.
A 35-year-old man was killed, while a 60-year-old one was injured in recent Russian strikes, the Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office reported on May 17.
Russia struck the city of Kharkiv twice with aerial bombs on May 17, killing two and injuring 25 people, local authorities reported.
Russia has no plans to capture Kharkiv "as of today" and is attacking Kharkiv Oblast in order to create a so-called buffer zone in the oblast to prevent shelling in Belgorod, President Vladimir Putin claimed on May 17.
Syrski's comments came a day after President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists Russian troops were able to advance as far as 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep during their offensive in Kharkiv Oblast, but the front in the region has been stabilized.
At around 1 a.m. on May 17, a lengthy air raid alert was finally lifted in Kharkiv Oblast after officials reported numerous Russian drone strikes and a ballistic missile threat.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's appointment of a new defense minister, Andrey Belousov, is seen as an attempt to streamline Russia's economy and mobilize it for the war effort. Russia's military has faced numerous supply and logistics problems that thwarted its all-out war against Ukraine from the get-go. Two years later,
One critical factor in Russia's recent battlefield successes in Ukraine is its extensive use of glide bombs. Every week, hundreds of these large, deadly weapons rain down on Ukraine, creating 20-meter-wide craters and obliterating military positions and entire settlements. Russia has heavily relied on glide bombs in its new offensive
When asked if the U.S. is to blame for what is happening in Kharkiv Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, "It is the world's fault."
"As of today, the situation in Kharkiv Oblast is generally under control, our soldiers are inflicting significant losses" on Russian troops, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Editor's note: We asked members of the Kyiv Independent community to share the questions they have about the war. Here's what they asked and how we answered. Join our community to ask a question in the next round. Read our previous answers here, here, here, here, and here What do
Key developments on May 15: * Zelensky: Ukraine stabilizes situation in Kharkiv Oblast amid Russian offensive * General Staff: Russian forces 'partially pushed out' from Vovchansk * Ukraine deploys more forces to Kharkiv Oblast * Blinken: US to give Ukraine additional $2 billion in military financing * Source: Ukraine's military intelligence drones strike oil depot
Governor Oleh Syniehubov said a five-story residential building in the Shevchenkyvskyi district was hit. At least two people were injured.
Ukrainian forces have managed to stabilize the situation in Kharkiv Oblast over the past day amid Russia's attempts to break through, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 15 in his evening address.
A Russian aerial bomb strike injured two nurses and a doctor in Mala Danylivka, a village on the outskirts of Kharkiv, the community's head, Oleksandr Hololobov, told Suspilne Kharkiv on May 15.
More Ukrainian forces are being deployed to Kharkiv Oblast amid Russia's offensive in the region, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on May 15, following a meeting with top military commanders.
Speaking on national TV, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said around 6,000 people from the surrounding oblast who lived closer to the front lines had been taken to the city and housed in dormitories.
Active battles are taking place in Vovchansk as Russian troops "take up positions on the streets of the city," Vovchansk Police Chief Oleksii Kharkivskyi said on social media on the morning of May 15.
President Volodymyr Zelensky had been due to make the trip in the coming days, partly in order to sign a bilateral security agreement with Spain, the El Pais newspaper reported on May 13.
Almost 8,000 civilians have been evacuated amid Russia's offensive in northern Kharkiv Oblast, which has killed at least one civilian and injured 24 others over the past day, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported on May 15.
Key developments on May 14: * Security Council secretary: Over 30,000 Russian troops involved in attack on Kharkiv Oblast * General Staff: Ukrainian soldiers 'change positions' near Lukiantsi village in Kharkiv Oblast * US State Department does not anticipate Russian breakthrough toward Kharkiv * Budanov expects Russia to launch new attack on Sumy
Russian forces attacked Kharkiv with the UMPB D-30 type of bombs, according to the Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office.
KHARKIV – The first signs that something ominous is happening in Kharkiv come as soon as the train from Kyiv reaches the suburbs of the city – as two pillars of smoke appear in the distance, every single phone in the carriage erupts with a piercing electronic squawking. "I guess we've arrived,
Russia's offensive on Vovchansk in northern Kharkiv Oblast killed two civilians aged 80 and 83, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported on May 14.
