KYIV – Ukraine says it has repelled a Russian armored attack in the north-eastern Kharkiv region, after Moscow’s forces launched an incursion across the border and sought to break through defensive lines.
Kharkiv regional head Oleh Syniehubov said Russian reconnaissance groups had tried to penetrate the border, adding that “not a single meter has been lost”.
“Russia has launched a new wave of counteroffensive operations in the Kharkiv sector,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Also on Friday, a huge fire broke out at an oil storage depot in Ukraine’s occupied Luhansk region after what Russian-installed officials said was a Ukrainian strike. Three people were killed in the attack, they added.
Ukrainian commanders have been expecting a summer offensive for some time, possibly even a bid to capture the regional capital, Kharkiv. But officials are adamant Russia does not have the resources to do so.
Russia had the capability to aggravate the situation in border areas but not the ability to capture Ukraine’s second city, said the head of Ukraine’s centre for countering disinformation, Andriy Kovalenko.
Ukrainian reports suggested Russia was trying to create a 10km buffer zone for its Belgorod region, after a series of Ukrainian cross-border attacks.
Friday’s small incursions over the Russian border form a familiar yet disturbing axis for Ukrainian forces.
The defense ministry in Kyiv said the attack started with the heavy bombing of the town of Vovchansk “using guided aerial bombs” with the support of artillery. Then, small Russian “scouting groups” moved in across the border, reportedly in several places.
The local head in Vovchansk, 75km (45 miles) north-east of Kharkiv, said the town had come under heavy attack from the early hours of Friday and civilians were being evacuated. Some 3,000 people live in Vovchansk and at least one person was killed and five more injured in the barrage, according to Kharkiv’s regional leader.
“At approximately 05:00, there was an attempt by the enemy to break through our defensive line under the cover of armored vehicles. As of now, these attacks have been repulsed, fighting of varying intensity continues,” the defense ministry said.
President Zelensky said the Russians had been engaged “with our troops, brigades and artillery”, but added that a fierce battle was under way.
Civilians were being evacuated from the Vovchansk district while reserve troops move in, officials added.
In the occupied Luhansk region, Russian officials reported that Ukrainian forces had attacked the city of Rovenky, killing three people and injuring seven.
The Russian-installed health ministry said four of those injured were in a serious condition.
“Because of the shelling, the oil depot was engulfed by flames and nearby houses were damaged,” Russian-installed Governor Leonid Pasechnik wrote on Telegram.
It was the second such attack this week. On Wednesday, an attack on another oil depot in the region injured five people.
Ukrainian bloggers and Telegram channels reported Friday’s attack and posted pictures of a large blaze.
However, there has been no comment from Ukrainian officials. (BBC)
