Key developments on June 8, 9: * Zelensky: Russia failed to fulfill its Kharkiv operation * Military intelligence: Ukraine hits Russian Su-57 jet for first time * Collaborator ex-mayor of Kupiansk in 'critical condition' after assassination attempt in Russia, military intelligence says * Russia sends students from Africa to fight in its war against
In total, Russia attacked 10 oblasts in the south, east, and north of Ukraine.
Russian troops attacked the village of Khotimlia in Kharkiv Oblast on June 8, killing one person and injuring two, Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office reported.
Russian troops failed their Kharkiv Oblast offensive, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on June 8 after meeting with Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
The statement comes nearly a month after Russia opened a new front in Kharkiv Oblast’s border areas. Heavy fighting rages on for Vovchansk, a town occupied by Russian troops in 2022 – and now largely reduced to ruins by intense glide bomb attacks.
Ukraine's civilian death toll rose to 174 last month, the highest level in almost a year, amid increased missile and bomb attacks on population centers around Kharkiv, the U.N. human rights office announced on June 7.
A 62-year-old driver and a 65-year-old passenger suffered injuries and are receiving medical care, the prosecutors said.
Russia targeted a total of 10 Ukrainian oblasts – Sumy, Luhansk, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Kherson. Casualties were reported in the latter four regions.
Russia is continuing to push on the Kurakhove, Pokrovsk, Kupiansk, and Kharkiv sectors, Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi said after visiting the eastern front.
Local authorities in the Zolochiv community have launched mandatory evacuations for children in six villages: Ivashky, Oleksandrivka, Perovske, Basovo, Tymofiivka, and Vidrodzhenivske.
Russian forces use filtration camps to identify and document Ukrainians in occupied territories. Those who pass through them are often subject to torture, sexual violence, and other violations, sometimes before being forcibly deported to Russia.
Speaking during his daily address on June 4, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia's strongest attacks were currently ongoing in Donetsk Oblast, where Moscow's forces are steadily advancing and which remains the Kremlin's primary target.
Editor's Note: The Kyiv Independent is not disclosing soldiers' full names since they disclosed information without authorization from their command. DONETSK OBLAST—As public attention shifted to Moscow's renewed offensive in Kharkiv Oblast, Russian forces steadily advance in the country's easternmost Donbas region, which remains Moscow's primary target. Moving west
Last month, two Georgian volunteer soldiers fighting for Ukraine were killed in combat near Avdiivka.
Radakin insisted that Russia is "failing" despite the ongoing offensive in Kharkiv Oblast and Ukrainian forces, which have been recently facing both a lack of personnel and ammunition shortage.
In Kharkiv Oblast, a Russian missile attack hit a recreational center in the Slobozhanske community shortly after midnight on June 3, killing one man and injuring a man and a woman, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
Ukraine’s Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on June 2 that he appealed to the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to investigate videos showing beatings, humiliation, and threats of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian soldiers in the Kharkiv direction.
Since the summer of 2023, local Ukrainian authorities announced the mandatory evacuation of families with children from multiple front-line areas due to the intensification of hostilities. The orders apply to several districts in Kharkiv Oblast, which borders Russia and has been heavily bombarded throughout the full-scale invasion, and the entirety
There were at least nine separate fires, most of which were started by Russian strikes, the State Emergency Service said. Six of the fires, encompassing around 2,300 hectares (5,680 acres) were contained.
Russian missiles struck three locations in the city overnight on May 31 – a five-story residential building, a sewing workshop, and a local shop.
“The recommendations apply to the northern border in Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts, where Russian forces are firing on Ukraine,” said Michael Carpenter, senior director for Europe at the U.S. National Security Council.
The Swiss volunteer had come to Ukraine to help evacuate people and animals from the areas of active combat operations. He was injured on May 30 during a humanitarian mission in embattled Vovchansk and received medical treatment, the prosecutors said.
Editor’s note: In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first names and callsigns only. KHARKIV OBLAST – In battles fought under a sky swarming with enemy drones, even the most minimal movement, even the quickest dash from one house
Under favorable conditions, the printing house is expected to be restored in four or five months, said Serhii Polituchyi, the Faktor Druk printing plant owner.
Editor’s Note: This article was published by the twice-weekly newsletter “The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak” on May 30, 2024, and has been re-published by the Kyiv Independent with permission. To subscribe to "The Counteroffensive," click here. Nataliia Kalinichenko treasures her newspaper archives, with clippings dating back to the 1940s,
The bodies were retrieved from the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Kharkiv sectors of the front line, as well as from the Russian-occupied territories.
The U.S. gave Ukraine permission to strike Russian territory with American-supplied weapons, but only near Kharkiv city, President Volodymyr Zelensky's spokesperson, Serhii Nykyforov, confirmed for the Kyiv Independent on May 31.
When asked by reporters on May 30 if there had been a shift in Pentagon policy, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said there had been "no change," without specifically mentioning attacks near the Kharkiv region.
Russian missile attacks on the Novobavarsky neighborhood of Kharkiv killed six people and injured 25 others, the State Emergency Service said on May 31.
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration secretly lifted the ban for Ukraine to strike Russian territory with American weapons, but "solely near the area of Kharkiv," Politico reported on May 30, citing three unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
Combat medic and public activist Iryna Tsybukh was killed while on rotation near the front in Kharkiv Oblast, just a few days before her 26th birthday, Hospitallers Medical Battalion said on social media on May 30.
Russian forces are increasing the number of troops near the villages of Strilecha and Lyptsi, as well as the city of Vovchansk. But this amount is not enough to carry out a new offensive, according to Syrskyi.
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