Kharkiv Oblast

Ukraine said on Saturday that nine people were killed in the country's Donetsk and Kharkiv regions due to Russian airstrikes.

A statement by the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said that four people were killed and six others injured in the northeastern Kharkiv region, where it claimed Russia attacked settlements in the region's Bohodukhiv, Izium and Kupiansk districts during the day.

Ukraine on Wednesday pressed its surprise offensive in Russian territory and bombarded the neighbouring border region of Belgorod, where the governor has declared a state of emergency.

Ukrainian forces entered Kursk region last Tuesday and have taken dozens of settlements in the biggest attack by a foreign army on Russian soil since World War II.

In Vovchansk, located in the Kharkiv region, intense fighting continues with a volatile situation. Ukrainian forces have given the trapped Russian occupiers an ultimatum to surrender or face death, according to Vitaly Sarantsev from the Operational-Tactical Group of Troops of Ukraine "Kharkiv," as reported by UNIAN.

Russian troops numbering approximately 400 have been encircled by Ukrainian forces at a chemical plant in Vovchansk, located in the Kharkiv region. Ukraine's Center for Defense Strategies reports that thirty of the Russian soldiers have surrendered, following failed attempts to rescue them.

At least three individuals were injured in a Russian attack on the Dnipropetrovsk region, executed with kamikaze drones.

In the north, Ukraine has managed to halt Russian advances near Kharkiv and initiated a counter-offensive. This information was confirmed by Ukrainian Colonel Igor Prokhorenko of the General Staff, who described the situation as "difficult but stable."

Foreign journalists report from an observation point while smoke rises after a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Friday, May 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Ukraine said Friday it had halted a Russian ground offensive in Kharkiv and was now attacking Moscow's forces that mounted a surprise assault on the border region this month.

Ukrainian troops are achieving "tangible" results against Russian forces in the hotspot northeastern Kharkiv region but the frontline situation is "extremely difficult" elsewhere, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday.

Russia launched a fresh assault on Kharkiv on May 10 and has since captured several small settlements in its biggest advance in 18 months.

The village of Bilohorivka in the Luhansk region of Ukraine has reportedly been seized by the Russian army, according to a statement from the Ministry of Defense in Moscow quoted by "France Presse." This development marks a significant territorial gain for Russian forces, as Bilohorivka was one of the few remaining settlements in the district under Ukrainian control.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an exclusive interview with AFP on Friday he expects Russia to step up its offensive in the northeast and warned Kiev only has a quarter of the air defences it needs to hold the front line.

Ukraine battled Thursday to "stabilise" the front line in the northeast Kharkiv region, where Moscow has made its largest territorial gains in 18 months after launching an offensive last week.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said more reinforcements had been sent to the area, and the Ukrainian army said it had partially halted Russia's advance.