- By Jonathan Beale and Henri Astier
- BBC News, Kharkiv region and London
Russian attacks in northeastern Ukraine have led to the evacuation of nearly 1,800 people from the Kharkiv region, the regional governor said.
kyiv has been expecting a Russian summer offensive for some time, including a possible attempt to capture Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city.
But Ukraine insists its forces are capable of resisting any attack.
On Saturday, Russia announced it had taken control of five villages near the town of Vovchansk in its latest offensive. The BBC has not been able to independently verify this claim.
It is still unclear how far the Russians will advance – whether it is an exploratory attack or the start of something bigger.
Ukrainian artillery guns are now returning fire. The detonations of the exchanges of fire echo loudly in the streets already damaged by the bombs.
A total of 1,775 people were evacuated, Kharkiv regional head Oleh Syniehubov said on social media. Hundreds more remain in Vovchansk, just 6 kilometers from the Russian border.
Resident Serhii told the BBC that his house and vehicles were destroyed by a Russian hovering bomb.
His wife was rushed to hospital with more serious injuries. Small fires still spread smoke over the remains of his house.
Serhii said he didn’t want to leave because he was afraid of what might happen to their four goats.
As we surveyed the damage, we heard the howl of more hovering bombs, followed by the loud thud of the explosion.
The Russian Air Force is having an increasingly lethal effect and, for now, Ukraine has no answer.
Ukrainian officials say Russia had the ability to escalate the situation in border areas, but not to capture the city of Kharkiv itself.
Reports suggest Moscow is hoping to create a 10-kilometre buffer zone for its Belgorod region, after a series of Ukrainian cross-border attacks.
In his nighttime speech on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said fighting continued in seven border villages, Reuters reported.
“Our defensive operations continue in the Kharkiv region,” he said, adding that the situation in Donetsk “remains particularly tense.”
On Friday, the United States announced a new $400 million (£319 million; €371 million) military aid package for Ukraine.
It will be Washington’s third tranche of aid to the country after months of political impasse – adding to the previous package worth a total of $7 billion sent at the end of April.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the “urgent” aid would include air defense munitions, artillery shells, anti-tank weapons and armored vehicles.
National security spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Friday that Russia would “make further progress in the coming weeks in attempting to establish a buffer zone along the Ukrainian border.”
Moscow seeks to take advantage of the late arrival of American weapons by continuing its advance in the eastern region of Donetsk.
The resumption of violent fighting in the northeast once again illustrates Russia’s growing ambitions.
News Source : www.bbc.com
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