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 Sunday.
The intense battles have forced at least one Ukrainian unit to withdraw in the Kharkiv region, capitulating more land to Russian forces in the so-called contested “gray zone” along the Russian border.
By Sunday afternoon, the town of Vovchansk, one of the largest in the northeast with a pre-war population of 17,000, emerged as a focal point in the battle. Volodymyr Tymoshko, the head of the Kharkiv regional police, said Russian forces were in the outskirts of the town and approaching from three directions.
At least 4,000 civilians have fled the Kharkiv region since Friday when Moscow’s forces launched the operation, according to Gov. Oleh Syniehubov. Heavy fighting has been raging along the northeast frontline, with Russian forces attacking 27 settlements in the past 24 hours, he added.
Analysts believe that the Russian push is designed to exploit ammunition shortages before promised Western supplies can reach the frontline. This offensive comes after Russia intensified attacks in March, targeting energy infrastructure and settlements.
On Sunday, the Russian defense ministry claimed that its forces had captured four villages on the border along Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, in addition to the five villages reported to have been seized on Saturday. Ukraine’s leadership has not confirmed Moscow’s gains, but Tymoshko stated that Strilecha, Pylna, and Borsivika were under Russian occupation.
