Ukrainian army Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi (right) with Joint Forces Commander Yurii Sodol. Photo: Facebook
The Ukrainian army’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi warned that the situation in the country’s eastern Kharkiv region had “significantly worsened” for Ukrainian forces on Sunday as Russia claimed it had captured four new villages in its continued offensive on the area.
In its daily briefing on Sunday, Russia’s Defence Ministry said Russian troops had “advanced deep into the enemy’s defence” and “liberated” the villages of Hatyshche, Krasne, Morokhovets and Oliinykove, all of which are located on Ukraine’s border with Russia to the north of the country’s second city Kharkiv.
Syrskyi said that Ukrainian forces were engaged in “fierce defensive battles” in the Kharkiv region and that while conditions had “significantly worsened” in recent days, the Armed Forces of Ukraine had managed to hold their defensive line and prevent Russian troops from advancing further into the region.
On Saturday, Russia said it had captured the villages of Borisivka, Ogirtseve, Pletenivka, Pylna and Strilecha, also along the border in the Kharkiv region. Ukrainian war monitoring project DeepState confirmed the Russian claim on Sunday.
Kharkiv region Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported that operations to evacuate civilians from the area were ongoing in light of Russia’s “intensified hostilities”, and that over 4,000 people had been evacuated from the region since the Russian offensive was launched on Friday.
In his daily video address on Saturday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that “defensive operations” were underway near the villages Russia claimed it had captured and that Ukrainian forces were “conducting counterattack actions” on the Kharkiv region’s border with Russia.
