Russian forces have entered the Kharkiv border town of Vovchansk, a local Ukrainian official has admitted, as the frontier town that has been the primary defence line against the Kremlin’s renewed offensive in the region looks to be falling.
The capture of the town just three miles from the border would be Russia’s most significant gain since it launched an incursion into the Kharkiv region on Friday, opening a new front and forcing Kyiv to rush in reinforcements.
“The situation is extremely difficult. The enemy is taking positions on the streets of the town of Vovchansk,” Oleksiy Kharkivskiy, Vovchansk’s patrol police chief, said on Facebook.
Ukraine’s military said on Tuesday its forces pulled back to “more advantageous” positions in two areas of the Kharkiv region, including the Vovchansk area.
It cited “a consequence of enemy fire and storming action” and said the decision was taken “to preserve the lives of our servicemen and avoid losses”.
Vovchansk is just 35 miles from the city centre of Kharkiv, the region’s capital that is home to around 1.3 million residents. Further north, in Russia’s second attack, they have pushed to within 20 miles of Kharkiv city centre.
Key Points
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Ukraine launches major attack with US missiles on occupied Crimea
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Frontline ‘on the edge’, Kyiv warns
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Why is Putin targeting Ukraine’s Vovchansk in Kharkiv
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Putin will be made to pay to rebuild Ukraine, Blinken says in Kyiv
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Up to 30,000 Russian troops attacking Kharkiv, Kyiv says
Ukraine calls Putin comment about possible dialogue to end war ‘hypocritical’
10:14 , Tom Watling
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak dismissed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s comments on possible negotiations over his war in Ukraine as “hypocritical” on Wednesday.
“Once again, Putin’s hypocritical ‘negotiation’ activity… At the same time, Russia continues to burn cities in Donbas and is trying to break through in Kharkiv region, while simultaneously scaling up crimes against civilians,” he said on X.
Once again, #Putin‘s hypocritical “negotiation” activity. Once again, he speaks of ultimatum demands to recognize “RF’s non-defeat”, disguising it as traditional Russian “diplomacy”…
At the same time, #Russia continues to burn cities in Donbas and is trying to break through in…
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) May 15, 2024
Russia intensifies attacks around Kharkiv as Blinken says US weapons will make ‘real difference’ on frontline
09:45 , Tom Watling
Ukraine expects Russia to throw as many of its resources as possible at an attack around Kharkiv as Kyiv’s forces are “on the edge” given how badly they are outgunned by Moscow’s troops.
Spy chief General Kyrylo Budanov said the assault by Vladimir Putin’s forces is intended to exhaust Kyiv’s thin reserves across the frontline.
Russian troops have captured at least six villages in the last week after storming the northeastern border region, forcing thousands of residents to flee.
Russia intensifies attacks around Kharkiv as Blinken visits Kyiv
Russia takes up positions in Ukraine town of Vovchansk in Kharkiv region, local police chief says
09:20 , Tom Watling
Russian forces are establishing positions inside the Ukrainian border town of Vovchansk in the northeastern Kharkiv region and fighting there is intense, the local police chief has said.
The capture of the town three miles from the border would be Russia’s most significant gain since it launched an incursion into the Kharkiv region on Friday, opening a new front and forcing Kyiv to rush in reinforcements.
“The situation is extremely difficult. The enemy is taking positions on the streets of the town of Vovchansk,” Oleksiy Kharkivskiy, Vovchansk’s patrol police chief, said on Facebook.
Ukraine‘s military said on Tuesday its forces pulled back to “more advantageous” positions in two areas of the Kharkiv region, including the Vovchansk area.
It cited “a consequence of enemy fire and storming action” and said the decision was taken “to preserve the lives of our servicemen and avoid losses.”
Families leave Kharkiv, but not without their dogs
08:54 , Arpan Rai
Olena Gubenko refused to leave her home in Kharkiv when Russia first invaded Ukraine, but she has now finally evacuated after Vladimir Putin’s troops launched a new offensive into the northeastern region.
She is fleeing along with a pack of over one hundred rescue dogs, which she and other volunteers have rushed to evacuate.
“I’ll be with them, wherever they are… they’re my life,” she said, pushing her frightened canines into cages that volunteers loaded in vans.
Here are some of the latest photos from Ukraine
08:45 , Tom Watling
Below are some of the latest photos from Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Zelensky cancels visit to Spain and Portugal
08:22 , Tom Watling
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has cancelled a visit to Spain and Portugal, authorities said on Wednesday, with CNN Portugal and other media reporting it was because of renewed fighting in his country.
King Felipe of Spain has been due to hold a reception for Mr Zelensky on May 17 and host a meal in his honour.
Mr Zelensky had also been expected to sign a bilateral security cooperation agreement with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez following a joint declaration by Nato last year.
A spokesperson for the Portuguese government said the Ukraine president had cancelled the visit but did not give a reason.
The Spanish government said it could not comment for security reasons.
Alongside other European Union countries, Spain committed to support Ukraine with financial and military aid after Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
Mr Zelensky’s planned visit was due to coincide with an European Union pledge of long-term security support for Kyiv, according to a draft document.
Defying West, Putin set to meet Xi in Beijing
07:28 , Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin’s Beijing visit starting tomorrow is likely to be light on hard deals but will mark the start of his new presidential term with a show of support from his most powerful political partner, Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
Putin’s two-day mission is expected to highlight the pair’s vaunted “no limits” partnership in defiance from pressure from the United States over Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The Chinese foreign ministry confirmed Putin’s trip yesterday, saying Xi and Putin would exchange views on ties and “international and regional issues of common concern”.
While diplomats and analysts expect Putin to push Xi for further support for Russia’s war economy, from machines and chemicals to help its military industries to more discounted oil and gas purchases, Putin’s trip is likely to be heavily symbolic of a shared world view centred on countering a US-led order.
“China is Russia’s strategic partner – this is the path chosen by the president of Russia and the leader of China – and nothing is going to change that no matter what the West tries to say or do,” a Russian official said on condition of anonymity.
In an interview with China’s news agency Xinhua published early today, Putin backed China’s plan for a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis, saying Beijing had a full understanding of what lay behind it.
“In Beijing, they truly understand its root causes and its global geopolitical meaning,” Putin said, according to a Russian language transcript published on a Kremlin website.
Putin will also discuss economic ties with China’s premier Li Qiang and visit Harbin, a northeast city with historic Russian connections.
Putin’s arrival follows a mission to Beijing late last month from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in part to warn China’s top diplomat Wang Yi against deepening military support for Russia.
Ukraine grid operator imposes fresh power cuts amid Russian attacks
07:26 , Arpan Rai
Ukrainian grid operator Ukrenergo rolled out new controlled country-wide power cuts starting today amid Russian attacks on the war-hit nation’s energy infrastructure.
Ukraine is witnessing power shortages due to the damage caused to generating capacity from recent Russian missile strikes.
The power cuts will be implemented between 6.40am to 9am local time, Ukrenergo said.
This follows cuts that took place across Ukraine yesterday evening.
AP gets rare look as Ukraine tries to slow Russia with drones on new front
07:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
From the sky, the Ukrainian drone unit commander had a bird’s-eye view of Russia’s renewed offensive playing out in the country’s war-ravaged northeast.
Enemy forces have captured a string of Ukrainian villages over the past few days after opening a new front along the border with the Russian region of Belgorod. In the village of Strilecha, long depopulated due to its proximity to the border, a Russian infantry unit rolled in with ease, said one drone operator.
“I saw that the infantry just walked into the village,” said Borchik. “There were a lot of them.” Members of the unit spoke on the condition that only their call signs be used in line with Ukrainian military protocols.
AP gets rare look as Ukraine tries to slow Russia with drones on new front
Why is Putin targeting Ukraine’s Vovchansk town in Kharkiv?
06:54 , Arpan Rai
Russia’s invasion has abruptly returned to Ukraine’s northern Kharkiv region in full force this month, and Ukrainian military officials believe Vladimir Putin is likely to throw more reserves into the fight for the border area.
Moscow had already committed all the troops it had in the vicinity for the Kharkiv operation, Kyiv’s military spy chief Kyrylo Budanov said, adding that Russia has other reserve forces that he expected to be used in the coming days.
“As of yesterday evening, a rapid trend towards a stabilisation of the situation had emerged – that is, the enemy is, in principle, already blocked at the lines that it was able to reach,” he said in televised comments.
It is unlikely that Russia has the required troop strength to capture Kharkiv city itself, top Ukrainian officials said.
Experts say that the fight for the smaller Vovchansk is instead the most important battle in the new Russian push, as it looks to capture the town some 45km from Kharkiv city centre.
“If Russia wants to go further south, Vovchansk needs to be captured. In this town, Ukraine is putting up a fight, and it seems that stronger Ukrainian defences are starting to appear around 6-8 km from the border in other places too,” said Emil Kastehelmi, an open-source intelligence analyst with Black Bird Group.
The town, as of today, is “almost destroyed”, said Tamaz Gambarashvili, head of Vovchansk’s military administration.“It’s completely under (Kyiv’s) control, but there are small groups that try to enter the outskirts of the city, so there is a shooting battle,” he said.
Russia hit residential areas in Ukraine’s Kharkiv
06:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russia carried out a series of air strikes on residential areas in the city of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine on Tuesday, local officials said, injuring at least 20 people.
One of the sites hit was a 20-storey building in the city centre, emergency services said. Earlier, officials had said it was a 12-storey building. Regional prosecutors said Russia had used its new guided UMPB D-30 bombs in that attack.
At another site, at least 15 garages near to a residential building caught fire after being struck by the guided bombs, the prosecutors added.
“Twenty people were injured and had an acute stress reaction,” the prosecutors said on the Telegram messaging app. Three children were among them.
Oleh Syniehubov, the regional governor, said Russia had struck residential areas of Kharkiv city seven times throughout the day.
“Someone’s home was here, where a pile of stones is now. Until Russia destroyed it,” Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram, posting an image from one of the sites.
US Secretary of State Blinken performs ‘Rockin in the Free World’ on guitar in Kyiv bar
05:53 , Arpan Rai
In a bar in Kyiv, America’s top diplomat used a guitar to deliver a message for Ukraine and the world with a performance of a classic tune by Canadian-American singer Neil Young.
Antony Blinken made a surprise visit to the war-torn Ukrainian capital this week as a show of continued support for the US ally amid intensified Russian missile attacks. On Tuesday, he took to the stage at a basement watering hole called Barman Dictat to perform with a band called 19.99.
The song? Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World”.
Before taking the stage, Mr Blinken told the crowd at the bar that he recognized Ukrainian forces and citizens were still suffering and pledged support from the US and the rest of the world.
“Your soldiers, your citizens — particularly in the northeast, in Kharkiv — are suffering tremendously. But they need to know — you need to know — the United States is with you, so much of the world is with you and they’re fighting not just for a free Ukraine, but for the free world. And the free world is with you, too,” he said.
Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington DC:
Antony Blinken plays ‘Rockin in the Free World’ in Kyiv bar
Ukraine launches major attack with US missiles on occupied Crimea
05:51 , Arpan Rai
Russian forces claim they have averted a massive Ukrainian air attack on the Crimean port city Sevastopol and over the Black Sea overnight.
The Russian defence ministry said it destroyed 10 US-provided long-range missiles, known as ATACMS, that Ukraine’s military launched overnight towards occupied Crimea.
Another nine attack drones were destroyed over the Belgorod region, the ministry said.
The Russian defence ministry said five attack drones were also destroyed over Russia’s Kursk region and three over the Bryansk region.
In Crimea, Russia-installed governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said “several air objects” were destroyed by Russia’s air defence systems over the region in the early hours today.
He claimed no one was injured, citing preliminary information. The scale of the attack and the extent of the damage were not immediately known.
Ukraine does not typically comment on its operations against regions within Russia or the Crimea Peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014.
Russian fuel depot under attack, explosions reported
05:24 , Arpan Rai
A drone attack in Russia has caused two blasts at a fuel depot in Rostov region, local governor Vasily Golubev said today.
There were no injuries and no fire as a result of the attack, he said on his Telegram channel.
Last month, a similar attack had blown up an oil pipeline at a Russian military facility in Rostov’s village of Azov. The pipeline was reportedly transporting petroleum products from a local oil depot to tankers in the port area of the Azov Sea port.
Putin will be made to pay to rebuild Ukraine, says US secretary of state
05:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Antony Blinken said on Tuesday (14 May) that what Vladimir Putin has destroyed in Ukraine, Russia “should and must pay” to rebuild, as he confirmed the US intends to use its power to seize Russian assets.
“We’re working with our G7 partners to see that Russia’s immobilised sovereign assets are used to remedy the damage that Putin continues to cost,” the US secretary of state said in a speech from Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.
Mr Blinken added that making Russia pay for the damage is “what international law demands and what the Ukrainian people deserve”.
Ukraine warns of Russian advance near Sumy region further north
04:40 , Arpan Rai
Ukrainian military officials have warned that Russia appears to be advancing on the far northern border region of Sumy.
Sumy is around 350km from Kyiv, and around 142km from the Kharkiv region, which has been under a new assault from Russian forces since Friday.
Russia has small groups of forces in the border areas near Ukraine’s Sumy region in the vicinity of the Russian town of Sudzha, from where Russian natural gas transits into Ukraine by pipeline on its way to European customers, Ukrainian military spy chief Kyrylo Budanov said.
“As for the Sumy region, the Russians actually planned an operation in the Sumy region from the very beginning… but the situation did not allow them to take active actions and start the operation,” he said.
Ukraine withdraws troops from two areas of Kharkiv region to save lives
04:10 , Arpan Rai
Ukrainian troops were withdrawn from two new positions in the embattled Kharkiv region yesterday evening to avoid further losses, as the Russian bid to capture Ukraine’s second-largest city continues.
“In certain sectors in the area of Lukrantsi and Vovchansk, units have moved to more advantageous positions as a consequence of enemy fire and storming action and in order to preserve the lives of our servicemen and avoid losses,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said late last night.
Russian media are citing its military as claiming to have captured a 10th border village, Buhruvatka, though there is no confirmation of that yet from the Ukrainian side.
The police chief in Vovchansk, a town 5km (3 miles) from the border that has been the target of one of the main Russian thrusts, reported exchanges of fire in the north of the town.
Mapped: Russian forces advance in northeastern Ukraine as Putin opens up second front
04:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russian forces have captured swathes of Ukrainian territory over the past four days after they opened up a second front in the northeast region of Kharkiv.
Beginning just after 5.30am on Friday, several small, infantry-led units, backed up by armoured vehicles, stormed across the Russia-Ukraine border on two next-door sectors.
Since then, according to DeepState, a Ukrainian open-source intelligence group that maps the war, Russia has captured around 45 square miles of territory. It is the first time they have launched an assault in the Kharkiv region since they were pushed out by Ukrainian forces in September 2022.
Mapped: Russian forces advance in northeastern Ukraine as Putin opens up second front
Government urged to reopen family reunion route for Ukrainian refugees as children kept from parents
03:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The government has been urged to reconsider changes to its Ukraine refugee schemes that are keeping families apart – as more cases emerge of parents unable to bring their children to the UK.
When the decision to close the Ukraine Family Scheme was implemented days before the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion, officials dismissed widespread warnings the move would keep families apart as “cynical scaremongering”.
But these warnings have now come to pass, with The Independent revealing the case of parents who arrived under the Homes for Ukraine scheme in April 2022 now left unable to bring their two-year-old daughter from Kyiv, having finally secured suitable accommodation and set up a business in the UK.
Government urged to reopen routes for Ukrainian refugees to bring children to UK
Russia intensifies attacks around Kharkiv as Blinken says US weapons will make ‘real difference’ on frontline
02:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Ukraine expects Russia to throw as many of its resources as possible at an attack around Kharkiv as Kyiv’s forces are “on the edge” given how badly they are outgunned by Moscow’s troops.
Spy chief General Kyrylo Budanov said the assault by Vladimir Putin’s forces is intended to exhaust Kyiv’s thin reserves across the frontline.
Russian troops have captured at least six villages in the last week after storming the northeastern border region, forcing thousands of residents to flee.
Russia intensifies attacks around Kharkiv as Blinken visits Kyiv
Blinken, guitar in hand, tells Ukraine to keep ‘rockin’ in the free world’
01:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday picked up a red guitar at a basement bar in Kyiv with a message for Ukraine – that the U.S. and much of the world was fighting not just for Ukraine but for the free world.
Blinken, who while in Kyiv this week has pledged unwavering U.S. support as Russian has intensified attacks in Ukraine, joined band 19.99 on stage at Barman Dictat in the capital city. They played Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World”, a rock anthem released in 1989 just before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
“Your soldiers, your citizens – particularly in the northeast, in Kharkiv – are suffering tremendously. But they need to know, you need to know, the United States is with you, so much of the world is with you and they’re fighting not just for a free Ukraine, but for the free world. And the free world is with you, too,” Blinken said before playing the song.
Blinken watched most of 19.99’s set before the lead singer introduced him as a “great friend of Ukraine.”
He then joined them on stage to play the song with the chorus “keep on rockin’ in the free world”.
Watch: Zelensky meets Blinken
Wednesday 15 May 2024 00:01 , Alexander Butler
Today, I hosted @SecBlinken for a detailed discussion of the battlefield situation, support for our soldiers, and ongoing defense cooperation.
We discussed the need for Patriot systems in Ukraine to protect our cities and communities, such as Kharkiv and the surrounding region.… pic.twitter.com/xXMRoHnJvU
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 14, 2024
Russia puts submarine-launched Bulava intercontinental missile into service
Tuesday 14 May 2024 23:00 , Alexander Butler
Russia has put its submarine-launched Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile into service, state media said on Tuesday, a key element in the modernisation of its nuclear arsenal.
Tass news agency quoted Yuri Solomonov, the missile’s chief designer, as saying its adoption was announced in a decree dated May 7, the same day Vladimir Putin began a new six-year term in the Kremlin.
The Bulava was developed under a programme that started in the 1990s and is designed to be deployed on Russia’s Borei-class submarines.
Putin’s surprise decision to replace his defence minister raises as many questions as it answers
Tuesday 14 May 2024 22:00 , Alexander Butler
Putin replacing his defence minister raises as many questions as it answers
Russian oil still ending up in UK despite sanctions, MPs told
Tuesday 14 May 2024 21:00 , Alexander Butler
Russian oil still ending up in UK despite sanctions, MPs told
Who’s in and who’s out as paranoid Putin swings the axe on his own Kremlin team
Tuesday 14 May 2024 20:00 , Alexander Butler
Who’s in and who’s out as paranoid Putin swings the axe on his own Kremlin team
Ukraine’s defence minister calls for more artillery shells
Tuesday 14 May 2024 19:00 , Alexander Butler
The Ukrainian defence minister has called for more artillery shells amid a Russian advance into the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine.
Rustem Umerov said Putin’s forces were still “many times ahead” and warned it was “extremely difficult” to hold ground without the munitions.
It comes after Volodmyr Zelensky urged the US to supply his military with with two more air defence systems to help push Russian forces back from Kharkiv.
Addressing Blinken in English, Zelensky said air defence supplies were “the biggest deficit for us”, with Russia conducting long-range aerial attacks since March that have hit electricity facilities and caused blackouts.
“Really we need today two Patriots for Kharkiv, for Kharkiv region because there the people are under attack. Civilians, warriors, everybody they are under Russian missiles,” he said.
Poland to boost intelligence spending due to Russian threat
Tuesday 14 May 2024 18:00 , Alexander Butler
Poland will spend £20million to boost its intelligence services amid warnings of Russian interference, prime minister Donald Tusk said.
Mr Tusk said Poland was a key target for the Kremlin due to its capacity as a major distribution hub for Ukrainian military supplies.
“I decided to allocate £20million from my own reserve, the reserve of the prime minister, to strengthen the internal security and intelligence agencies,” Mr Tusk said.
He added that Russian efforts to destabilise European countries, particularly Poland and the Baltic states, were set to intensify in the run-up to European elections in June.
Zelensky to visit Spain
Tuesday 14 May 2024 17:00 , Alexander Butler
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is set to visit Madrid this week and meet with Spain’s King Felipe, the Royal Palace said.
The monarch will hold a reception for Zelensky at 12.30pm local time on 17 May and host a meal in his honour an hour later, the statement added.
The Spanish government has not provided any details on the visit due to security reasons, but Zelensky is also expected to sign a bilateral security cooperation agreement with prime minister Pedro Sanchez following a joint declaration by Nato last year.
Russia’s main task is victory with minimal loss of troops, new defence minister says
Tuesday 14 May 2024 16:00 , Alexander Butler
Russia’s main task is to achieve victory on the battlefield in Ukraine with the minimal loss of troops, incoming defence minister Andrei Belousov said.
Belousov, an economist whom President Vladimir Putin unexpectedly nominated on Sunday to replace Sergei Shoigu, said the military sector needed more efficiency and innovation in order to achieve its goals.
“The key task, of course, remains achieving victory. Ensuring the achievement of the military-political goals of the special military operation, set by the president.
“At the same time – I want to specifically emphasise this – with minimal human losses,” he told a parliamentary hearing.
Frontline ‘on the edge’, Kyiv warns
Tuesday 14 May 2024 15:01 , Alexander Butler
The frontline of the war in Ukraine is “on the edge” as Vladimir Putin’s troops advance on the northeast of the country, Ukraine’s top military spy warned.
General Kyrylo Budanov said “every hour” counted and Moscow’s assault was intended to exhaust Kyiv’s thin reserves across the frontline.
“The situation is on the edge. Every hour this situation moves toward critical. I’ve used everything we have. Unfortunately, we don’t have anyone else in the reserves,” Budanov told the New York Times.
France to deliver extra military aid to Ukraine in coming days
Tuesday 14 May 2024 15:00 , Alexander Butler
France will deliver extra military aid to Ukraine in coming days and weeks, the Elysee said in a statement on Tuesday, after french president Emmanuel Macron spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy over the phone.
“The president of the Republic reiterated France’s determination to provide all the necessary support. He was also able to detail the deliveries for the coming days and weeks in support of the Ukrainian military effort”, the statement said.
It comes as US secretary of state Anthony Blinken made an unannounced visit to Kyiv to provide “strong reassurance” over military aid.
‘Extremely difficult’ for Ukraine to hold ground against Russian forces
Tuesday 14 May 2024 14:08 , Alexander Butler
Ukraine’s defence minister says it is “extremely difficult” for troops to hold ground in Ukraine as they remain outgunned by Russian forces.
Rustem Umerov made a renewed plea for more shells and military supplies as Russia intensifies its offensive in the country’s northeast.
“We need more artillery shells as Russia is still many times ahead,” he told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit 2024 in an online address. Under such conditions it’s extremely difficult to hold the ground.”
Up to 7,000 have fled Kharkiv, officials say
Tuesday 14 May 2024 13:30 , Alexander Butler
Up to 7,000 Ukrainians have fled Kharkiv amid a massive Russian advance on the region, according to the city’s governor.
The majority of the evacuations took place in the Chuhuiv and Kharkiv districts, he said. In the Sumy region, which borders Kharkiv, a “voluntary evacuation” order has been put in place for several towns where attacks have increased and the military expect Russia to launch an assault on next.
“This is not a forced evacuation, but an early voluntary evacuation from those settlements where the number of attacks has significantly increased,” Sumy governor Volodymyr Artuikh, said Tuesday.
Government urged to reopen family reunion route for Ukrainian refugees as children kept from parents
Tuesday 14 May 2024 13:00 , Alexander Butler
Government urged to reopen routes for Ukrainian refugees to bring children to UK
Russia claims capture of Kharkiv town Buhruvatka
Tuesday 14 May 2024 12:23 , Alexander Butler
Russian troops have captured the town of Buhruvatka in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, the defence ministry reports, according to Reuters.
The claim comes hours after Russia’s TASS news agency reported the western and northern parts of Vovchansk in Ukraine’s Kharkhiv region had fallen.
Kremlin critic Kara-Murza loses his appeal against treason sentence
Tuesday 14 May 2024 11:33 , Alexander Butler
Russia’s Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza against his 25-year jail sentence on treason and other charges, according to a Reuters reporter at the court on Tuesday.
Moscow-born Kara-Murza, who has both Russian and British passports, has repeatedly condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine, criticised President Vladimir Putin, and lobbied for Western sanctions against Moscow.
His quarter of a century jail term – handed down last year after what he described as a show trial like those under Josef Stalin in the 1930s – was the harshest of its kind since Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022.
Russia to engage all resources to attack Kharkiv in coming days, Kyiv warns
Tuesday 14 May 2024 10:30 , Alexander Butler
Vladimir Putin is set to enage “all available resources” to attack Kharkiv over the coming days, Ukraine’s top military spy warned.
General Kyrylo Budanov said the Russian military had stationed small assault units near Ukraine’s northern Sumy region and more reserves were expected soon.
He added that Ukrainian forces would be able to shore up their lines and stabilise the front within the next few days – but attacks in the northeast were intended to stretch Kyiv’s thin reserves and divert them from fighting elsewhere.
Kremlin says it does not see change of defence minister as damaging war effort
Tuesday 14 May 2024 10:11 , Alexander Butler
The Kremlin said it did not believe that a change of defence minister and ongoing corruption scandals within the ministry would negatively affect the way Russia is conducting what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment when asked about he arrest of a senior Russian Defence Ministry official, Yuri Kuznetsov, saying investigative authorities were looking into the matter.
Kuznetsov, who served as head of the Defence Ministry’s personnel department, is accused of taking a large bribe, the Russian Investigative Committee said.
UK shadow defence and foreign secretaries visit Ukraine
Tuesday 14 May 2024 10:04 , Alexander Butler
The UK’s shadow defence and foreign secretaries have travelled to Ukraine to pledge their “ironclad” support for Kyiv’s war effort.
British shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, and shadow defence secretary, John Healey, visited the town of Bucha and met with war crimes experts who are investigating alleged crimes committed by Russian forces in March 2022.
Mr Lammy said of the visit: “As detailed to me yesterday, the crimes committed by Russian forces in Bucha are heinous.
“The international community must continue to support Ukraine, in all areas, including in the area of accountability within atrocity crimes. Labour is committed to holding the Russian regime to account for its crimes.”
‘Unlikely’ Russia has combat power to take Kharkiv, UK says
Tuesday 14 May 2024 09:22 , Alexander Butler
It is unlikely Russia has the combat power to take Kharkiv without diverting more resources to the region, the UK’s ministry of defence said.
A colonel, who did not want to be named, previously told The Independent the present Russian attack would likely be limited – with the aim of establishing a no man’s land between Russia and Ukraine’s Sumy and Kharkiv regions.
It comes after Kyiv warned up to 30,000 Russian troops were involved in the attack on the Kharkiv region after Moscow began targeting it last week.
“At the moment, Russian actions in the border area are ongoing,” Oleksandr Lytvynenko, the recently appointed secretary of Ukraine’s security council, said.
“We can say that we don’t see any threat of assault on the city of Kharkiv. But there are a lot of Russians, quite a lot. About 50,000 were on the border.” He warned that “more than 30,000” were involved in the current attack.
Pictured: Blinken arrives in Kyiv
Tuesday 14 May 2024 09:15 , Alexander Butler
Up to 30,000 Russian troops attacking Kharkiv, Kyiv says
Tuesday 14 May 2024 09:00 , Alexander Butler
Up to 30,000 Russian troops are involved in the attack on Kharkiv after Putin’s forces began targeting the region last week, Kyiv warned.
“At the moment, Russian actions in the border area are ongoing,” Oleksandr Lytvynenko, the recently appointed secretary of Ukraine’s security council, said.
“We can say that we don’t see any threat of assault on the city of Kharkiv. But there are a lot of Russians, quite a lot. About 50,000 were on the border.” He warned that “more than 30,000” were involved in the current attack.
Putin’s surprise decision to replace his defence minister raises as many questions as it answers
Tuesday 14 May 2024 08:37 , Alexander Butler
Putin replacing his defence minister raises as many questions as it answers
Putin to visit China this week
Tuesday 14 May 2024 08:26 , Alexander Butler
Vladimir Putin will visit China this week, TASS news agency reports, citing the Kremlin.
The Russian leader is set to visit Beijing and the northeast province of Harbin on 16 and 17 May, according to reports.
The trip is his first foreign trip since his inauguration for a new term as president. He last visited China in October 2023.
Four injured in by ‘Soviet-era’ bombing of Kharkiv, Kyiv says
Tuesday 14 May 2024 08:22 , Alexander Butler
Four people were injured in fresh Russian attacks on the battered city of Kharkiv in Ukraine’s northeast, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday.
A man and three women were injured in shelling by Russian forces early on Tuesday, Oleh Sinehubov, governor of the broader Kharkiv region of which Kharkiv city is the administrative centre, said on the Telegram messaging app.
Sinehubov said that Russia attacked Ukraine’s second largest city with its new UMPB D-30 bombs, Soviet-era retrofitted high-precision guided bombs that behave like a cruise missile.
Both Ukraine and Russia say they do not target civilians in the war which erupted when Russia invaded its smaller neighbour in February of 2022, which Moscow has called a “special military operation”.
Ukraine says it destroyed all 18 drones that Russia launched
Tuesday 14 May 2024 08:02 , Arpan Rai
Air defence systems destroyed all 18 attack drones that Russia launched overnight at Ukrainian territory, Ukraine’s air force said today.
The drones were downed over several regions, including Kyiv and a number of frontline regions, the air force said.
The air force also said that Russia launched one Iskander-M ballistic missile. It was not clear what happened to the missile.
Houses hit as Russia’s Belgorod again comes under attack
Tuesday 14 May 2024 07:54 , Arpan Rai
A fresh wave of Ukrainian air attacks on Russia’s Belgorod damaged a power line and nearly two dozen houses in the early hours today, Russian officials said.
Russia’s defence ministry claimed it destroyed over 25 missiles over the border region.
“There is one casualty – a woman has received a shrapnel wound to her spine,” Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on his Telegram channel.
He said that about 24 houses and a power line were damaged.
The defence ministry confirmed the attack and said its air defence systems destroyed 25 missiles launched by Ukraine from the RM-70 Vampire (MLRS) multiple launch rocket systems.
This comes after an attack on Belgorod where 15 people were killed and scores injured on Sunday when parts of an apartment block collapsed after being struck by falling missile debris, Russian officials said.
Thousands of civilians evacuated from northeast Ukraine as Russia presses renewed border assault
Tuesday 14 May 2024 07:42 , Arpan Rai
Thousands more civilians have fled Russia’s renewed ground offensive in Ukraine’s northeast that has targeted towns and villages with a barrage of artillery and mortar fire, officials said.
The intense battles have forced at least one Ukrainian unit to withdraw in the Kharkiv region, capitulating more land to Russian forces across less defended settlements in the so-called contested “grey zone” along the Russian border.
At least 4,000 civilians have fled the Kharkiv region since Friday, when Moscow’s forces launched the operation, governor Oleh Syniehubov said in a social media statement. Heavy fighting raged on Sunday along the northeast front line, where Russian forces attacked 27 settlements in the past 24 hours, he said.
Thousands of civilians evacuated from northeast Ukraine as Russia presses renewed border assault
Fresh shelling in Kharkiv injures four, Ukrainian officials say
Tuesday 14 May 2024 07:30 , Arpan Rai
Four people were injured in fresh Russian attacks on the battered city of Kharkiv in Ukraine’s northeast, Ukrainian officials said today.
The injured include a man and three women, said Oleh Sinehubov, governor of the broader Kharkiv region of which Kharkiv city is the administrative centre.
Mr Sinehubov said that Russia attacked Ukraine’s second largest city with its new UMPB D-30 bombs, Soviet-era retrofitted high-precision guided bombs that behave like a cruise missile.