On Monday, the Ukrainian army acknowledged Russia's “tactical successes” in the Kharkiv region (northeast of the country), where Moscow announced its control of four additional regions near the border in its attack launched on Friday, which led to the evacuation of thousands of residents. Civilians.
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The Ukrainian General Staff admitted early Monday in a statement on Facebook that “the enemy is currently achieving tactical successes,” adding that “fighting continues in the border town of Vovchansk,” which had a population of about 3,000 before the ongoing attack and where Moscow was advancing. It mobilized “up to five battalions,” according to Kiev.
This Russian progress comes at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin made a sudden cabinet reshuffle in Moscow on Sunday evening and dismissed his symbolic Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, after two years of conflict in Ukraine without a clear result.
AFP was able to see evacuees near Vovchansk on Sunday, most of them elderly and disoriented.
“We were not ready to leave,” said Lyuda Zelenskaya, 72, holding her cat Zora in her arms. Like her, Lyuba Konovalova, 70, recalled the “terrifying night” before their evacuation.
According to Oleksiy Kharkovsky, a police officer from Vovchansk, “several people” were killed in Saturday’s bombings and “the city is constantly under fire.” “Artillery, mortars and enemies are attacking with everything they have,” said the police officer who was mobilized to evacuate residents.
According to him, about 1,500 people have been evacuated since Friday from this city affected by 32 drone attacks in the past 24 hours. As of Sunday, there were still about 500 people there, according to Kharkiv region governor Oleg Senegubov.
“All northern border areas are under enemy fire almost 24 hours a day,” Sinigubov said on social media.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky summed up that “defensive battles and fierce fighting continue on a large part of our border.” “The idea behind the attacks in the Kharkiv region is to exhaust our forces and undermine morale” of the Ukrainian army.
The situation is “significantly deteriorating.”
The Russian Defense Ministry on Sunday reported the capture of four districts very close to the border – Gatichy, Krasnoye, Morokhovets and Olenikovo – in the Kharkiv region, which includes Ukraine's second-largest city.
Volodymyr Tymoshko, police chief of the Kharkiv region, said that Vovchansk was attacked from three sides, and that Russian forces were on its outskirts. “Despite the ongoing fighting, the police continue to evacuate” residents, he told AFP at the evacuation point.
Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian forces, Oleksandr Sirsky, confirmed that “attempts to penetrate our defenses have stopped,” but acknowledged that the situation in the Kharkiv region “deteriorated significantly” and remained “complicated.” He added that the Ukrainian forces “are doing everything in their power to maintain their defensive lines and harm the enemy.”
City Mayor Igor Terekhov said: “Despite all the events taking place in the region, Kharkiv is calm, and we do not see people leaving.”
Authorities in Kiev have been warning for weeks that Moscow may try to attack the northeastern border regions, where Ukraine faces delays in Western aid and a shortage of soldiers.
Fifteen dead in Belgorod
Within Russia and in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, Ukrainian forces have increased their strikes, especially against energy infrastructure.
In Belgorod, near the border, 15 people died when a building partially collapsed on Sunday, after being hit by a Ukrainian missile intercepted by anti-aircraft defences, according to a new report released Monday by the Ministry of Emergency Situations. About twenty people were injured.
Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported “two major explosions” there early Monday, without providing further details.
A Ukrainian drone also caused a fire at the Volgograd refinery site (southern Russia) during the night from Saturday to Sunday, as the governor of the region of the same name, Andrei Bocharov, regretted, confirming that the fire was extinguished and there were no casualties.
The refinery, owned by giant Lukoil, claims on its website that it is “the largest producer of petroleum products in the Southern Federal District,” which includes eight regions in southwestern Russia. The site was already the target of a Ukrainian drone attack in early February, with no casualties there either.
Kiev says it is acting in response to Russian military strikes against civilian sites, starting with energy infrastructure.
After more than two years of conflict, Sergei Shoigu, who had held his position since 2012, was dismissed. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov justified, saying: “Today, on the battlefield, whoever wins is the one who is most open to innovation.”
Andrei Belousov, Sergei Shoigu's replacement, was trained as an economist and had no military background.
