‘Mister President, we did it’: Ukrainian soldiers reach state border in Kharkiv region

A territorial defence unit of the Ukrainian army has reached the state border in the Kharkiv region, says Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence.

“Mister President, sir commander-in-chief! Today, on 15 May, our battalion reached the state border of Russia, the occupying nation. We did it, mister President, we’re here! See, here’s a border guard with us, mister President, we did it!” says one of the soldiers in a video shared by the Defence Ministry.

The Ukrainian army counterattacked the Russian troops near Kharkiv earlier and pushed them off to the state border, says Vadym Denisensko, advisor to the interior minister of Ukraine.

Igor Konashenkov, the Russian Defence Ministry spokesman, reported that the Russian army had intercepted 18 rocket shells in the regions of Kharkiv and Kherson in his today’s briefing. He did not mention Ukrainian soldiers reaching the state border.

The US Institute for the Study of War reported on 14 May that Russia had retreated its troops from Kharkiv due to “Ukrainian counterattacks and limited reinforcements”; this was later confirmed by the Kharkiv mayor.

Zelensky’s advisor Oleksiy Arestovych reported the Ukrainian army reaching the state border in the Kharkiv region last week as well. The Russian troops in the area were transferred to the city of Belgorod near the state border after suffering mass casualties.