Nearly 10,000 residents evacuated from Kharkiv Oblast border towns — video
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State Emergency Service and National Police employees, along with volunteers and local community representatives, continue evacuation efforts in Kharkiv Oblast, the SES reported on Facebook on May 18.
More than 9,900 residents have been evacuated from the border settlements of Kharkiv Oblast. About 2,500 people were evacuated from the Vovchansk municipality alone.
Russian offensive in Kharkiv Oblast
The Russians have heavily shelled border settlements in Kharkiv Oblast.
Russian troops initiated a new wave of counteroffensives on this front, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said while announcing the redeployment of Ukrainian forces to the Kharkiv sector.
Russia had tactical successes near Vovchansk on May 13, the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff said, adding that the situation on the Kharkiv front remained difficult.
The attack on Vovchansk and an attempt to encircle the city is a priority goal of Russian troops, the Institute for the Study of War believes.
Vovchansk was almost completely destroyed by relentless Russian shelling on May 14, local authorities reported, adding that the situation in the city is critical.
Russian invasion forces were taking positions on the streets of Vovchansk on May 15, Vovchansk's patrol police chief, Oleksiy Kharkivskyi, reported.
The advance of Russian troops into northern Vovchansk was later confirmed by Ukraine's General Staff.
Ukraine has so far managed to "increase confidence" in the direction of Vovchansk, Kharkiv Oblast, Zelenskyy said on May 16. He stated that counterattack actions of the Armed Forces are taking place in various areas, particularly in the border areas of Kharkiv Oblast.
Russian troops have expanded the area of active combat operations by almost 70 kilometers during the offensive in Kharkiv Oblast to force the Ukrainian Armed Forces to bring in new brigades from the reserve, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on May 17.
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