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Ukraine He stated this Thursday that he is trying to “stabilize” the front line in the face of the advance of Russian troops in the northeast of the country, where Moscow launched a surprise offensive that brought it its biggest territorial gains in a year and a half. .
Ukrainian authorities have accused the Russian military of executing at least one Ukrainian civilian and using dozens as “human shields” in Vovchansk, a city in the Kharkiv region.
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Across the border, the governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, reported that a Ukrainian drone strike killed a mother and her four-year-old son who were driving a car.
Between May 9 and 15, Russian forces conquered 257 km2 in this northeastern region and the epicenter of a new attack by Moscow, according to an AFP analysis based on data from the Institute for E.American War Study (ISW).
Furthermore, Moscow’s troops occupied another 21 km2 in different areas of the front, according to these same data.
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The Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenskyannounced this Thursday on Telegram that he had gathered the military command in the city of Kharkiv, the second city in the country, and considered that the situation in his region is “extremely difficult” but that it is “globally under control”.
Ukrainian forces “managed to partially stabilize the situation”, said army spokesman Nazar Voloshin, stating that “the enemy’s advance in some areas and locations has been stopped”, although Russian forces are still “trying” to advance.
The regional governor, Oleg Synegubov, declared that the “enemy” was still advancing in the Liptsi area and that the Russians were still trying to “take Vovchansk”.
“We cannot say that our soldiers managed to stabilize the front line“, he admitted, although he considers that the “active” phase of the advance “has been interrupted”.
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– “Human shields” –
Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klimenko, citing intelligence reports, reported that Russian troops are arresting and killing civilians in Vovchansk.
Police in the region said Moscow troops They detain between 35 and 40 civilians in Vovchansk and use them as “human shields, since their headquarters are nearby.”
An elderly resident trying to escape on foot towards territory controlled by the Ukraine He died after being shot in the head, according to the same source.
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AFP was unable to independently confirm these allegations and Russia did not react immediately.
Russian forces have been accused of numerous documented abuses in Ukraine, most notably the massacre of hundreds of civilians in Bucha, a Kiev suburb they occupied at the start of the 2022 invasion.
Moscow launched an offensive in Kharkiv taking advantage of the fragility of Ukrainian forces, affected by the lack of troops and also ammunition, due to the slow delivery of Western military aid.
– Putin, satisfied –
According to himRescue services, 8,800 people were evacuated in recent days in the Vovchansk region.
Some continue to arrive at a humanitarian center in the city of Kharkiv. Among them was Nadia Borodina, 85 years old, accompanied by her dog and cat.
“The soldiers came and shouted +Come on, come on!+ and we left in five minutes,” he said.
In addition to Kharkiv, Moscow continues its offensive in Donbass, also in eastern Ukrainewhere it attempts to seize the strategically important city of Chasiv Yar and advance west from the city of Avdiivka, captured in February.
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On Thursday night, the Ukrainian military said there had been no significant changes at the front, but that some troops had to “regroup” in the Pokrovski area, near Donetsk, “due to intense fire and attacks.”
The Russian President, Vladimir Putinwho visits China this Thursday, said in a joint statement released by the Kremlin that both Moscow and Beijing “point out the need to stop any measure that contributes to the spread of hostilities and an escalation of the conflict”.
The day before, the Russian leader congratulated himself on his army’s progress “on all fronts”.
However, a senior NATO commander said Thursday that Russia does not have sufficient forces “to carry out a strategic breakthrough” in Ukraine.
“Furthermore, they do not have the competence or capacity to do so,” US General Christopher Cavoli, NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, told journalists.
Source: Elcomercio
I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.
