Russian forces attacked a village of Vovchansk community in Kharkiv Oblast with cluster munitions on May 16, injuring five people, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
"Two medics, two drivers, and the head of the Vovchansk City Military Administration were injured," according to the governor's statement.
Tamaz Gambarashvili is the head of the Vovchansk City Military Administration.
Russian forces are taking Ukrainian civilians captive and preventing their evacuation in the embattled northern part of Vovchansk, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said earlier in the day. First cases of executions have also been reported.
Russia launched a new offensive with 30,000 troops on May 10, targeting Kharkiv Oblast, which is situated at the two countries' shared border in northeastern Ukraine.
Moscow's troops have focused their efforts in the directions of Lyptsi and Vovchansk, two settlements a few kilometers south of the border. There is ongoing combat in the northern outskirts of Vovchansk as of the morning of May 16.
Ukrainian troops thwarted Russia's plans to gain a foothold in deeper urban areas in the town, Ukraine's General Staff reported.
Martin Fornusek
Independent journalism needs a community —
not a paywall.
We’re working hard to show the world the truth of Russia’s brutal war — and we’re keeping it free for everyone, because reliable information should be available to all.
Our goal: reach 20,000 members to prove independent journalism can survive without paywalls, billionaires, or compromise. Will you help us do it?
(Updated: )
