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.
Key updates on May 17: * Ukrainian drones hit military facilities in Russia, Crimea amid Russian claims of over 100 drones downed * Zelensky says Russia's Kharkiv Oblast offensive advances as far as 10 km, halted by 1st defense line * Zelensky signs law amendments increasing fines for draft evaders, allowing some convicts
The drone feeds that soldiers relied on to keep track of Russian movements "completely disappeared," a Ukrainian soldier told the Washington Post.
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.
Russian troops were able to advance as far as 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep in some areas during their offensive in Kharkiv Oblast, but the front in the region has been stabilized, President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists on May 16.
Serhii Bolvinov, the head of the investigative department of the police of the Kharkiv Oblast, said on air on Suspilne that up to 40 civilians, most of them elderly, had been taken captive when trying to escape Russian shelling.
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.
Key updates on May 16: * Zelensky in Kharkiv: Situation 'difficult' but 'under control,' Russia suffers losses * Denmark announces more than $815 million in new military assistance for Ukraine * Minister: Russia captures, shoots civilians in northern Vovchansk * Source: Ukrainian drones attack Russian defense manufacturer's facilities in Tula * Partisans: Ammunition depot
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,
Echoing comments from President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said earlier in the day that the situation in Kharkiv Oblast was "difficult" but "under control," General Christopher Cavoli expressed confidence that Ukraine would be able to withstand the assault.
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
Russian forces attacked a village near the town of Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast with cluster munitions on May 16, injuring six people, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
A Russian attack on Kharkiv Oblast killed two women on May 16, the Kharkiv Oblast Office of the Prosecutor General reported on Telegram.
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."
Tamaz Gambarashvili, the head of Vovchansk City Military Administration, two medics and two drivers are among the injured, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on May 16.
Russian forces are taking Ukrainian civilians captive and preventing their evacuation in the embattled northern part of Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on May 16.
"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.
"The enemy's plans to advance deeper into the city of Vovchansk and gain a foothold there were thwarted," Ukraine's General Staff said on May 16.
Russia targeted a total of 10 Ukrainian oblasts — Sumy, Luhansk, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Kherson. Casualties were reported in the latter five regions.
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.
Ukrainian forces repelled Russian attacks in the Vovchansk direction in Kharkiv Oblast and "partially pushed out enemy forces from the town," the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said on May 15.
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.
Small Russian infantry units have entered Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast and are trying to gain a foothold in the northern part of town, Defense Ministry spokesperson Dmytro Lazutkin said on air 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.
President Volodymyr Zelensky decided to postpone all of his international events planned for the coming days, the Presidential Office said on May 15.
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