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Up to 30,000 Russian troops are involved in the attack on Kharkiv after Moscow began targeting the region last week, Kyiv warned.
“At the moment, Russian actions in the border area are ongoing,” Oleksandr Lytvynenko, the recently appointed secretary of Ukraine’s security council, said.
“We can say that we don’t see any threat of assault on the city of Kharkiv. But there are a lot of Russians, quite a lot. About 50,000 were on the border.” He warned that “more than 30,000” were involved in the current attack.
Kharkiv governor Oleh Syniehubov confirmed ground had been lost to the Russian advance, describing the situation as “difficult”.
“The enemy is trying to deliberately stretch it (the frontline), attacking in small groups, but in new directions, so to speak,” he said in televised comments.
It comes as US secretary of state Anthony Blinken made an unannounced visit to Kyiv to provide “strong reassurance” over military aid.
Mr Blinken arrived by sleeper train, rolling into Kyiv after a nine-hour journey from the Polish border. He touched down on Monday in the south-eastern Polish town of Rzeszów.
Kremlin says it does not see change of defence minister as damaging war effort
The Kremlin said it did not believe that a change of defence minister and ongoing corruption scandals within the ministry would negatively affect the way Russia is conducting what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment when asked about he arrest of a senior Russian Defence Ministry official, Yuri Kuznetsov, saying investigative authorities were looking into the matter.
Kuznetsov, who served as head of the Defence Ministry’s personnel department, is accused of taking a large bribe, the Russian Investigative Committee said.
UK shadow defence and foreign secretaries visit Ukraine
The UK’s shadow defence and foreign secretaries have travelled to Ukraine to pledge their “ironclad” support for Kyiv’s war effort.
British shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, and shadow defence secretary, John Healey, visited the town of Bucha and met with war crimes experts who are investigating alleged crimes committed by Russian forces in March 2022.
Mr Lammy said of the visit: “As detailed to me yesterday, the crimes committed by Russian forces in Bucha are heinous.
“The international community must continue to support Ukraine, in all areas, including in the area of accountability within atrocity crimes. Labour is committed to holding the Russian regime to account for its crimes.”
‘Unlikely’ Russia has combat power to take Kharkiv, UK says
It is unlikely Russia has the combat power to take Kharkiv without diverting more resources to the region, the UK’s ministry of defence said.
A colonel, who did not want to be named, previously told The Independent the present Russian attack would likely be limited - with the aim of establishing a no man’s land between Russia and Ukraine’s Sumy and Kharkiv regions.
It comes after Kyiv warned up to 30,000 Russian troops were involved in the attack on the Kharkiv region after Moscow began targeting it last week.
“At the moment, Russian actions in the border area are ongoing,” Oleksandr Lytvynenko, the recently appointed secretary of Ukraine’s security council, said.
“We can say that we don’t see any threat of assault on the city of Kharkiv. But there are a lot of Russians, quite a lot. About 50,000 were on the border.” He warned that “more than 30,000” were involved in the current attack.
Pictured: Blinken arrives in Kyiv
Up to 30,000 Russian troops attacking Kharkiv, Kyiv says
Up to 30,000 Russian troops are involved in the attack on Kharkiv after Putin’s forces began targeting the region last week, Kyiv warned.
“At the moment, Russian actions in the border area are ongoing,” Oleksandr Lytvynenko, the recently appointed secretary of Ukraine’s security council, said.
“We can say that we don’t see any threat of assault on the city of Kharkiv. But there are a lot of Russians, quite a lot. About 50,000 were on the border.” He warned that “more than 30,000” were involved in the current attack.
Putin’s surprise decision to replace his defence minister raises as many questions as it answers
Putin to visit China this week
Vladimir Putin will visit China this week, TASS news agency reports, citing the Kremlin.
The Russian leader is set to visit Beijing and the northeast province of Harbin on 16 and 17 May, according to reports.
The trip is his first foreign trip since his inauguration for a new term as president. He last visited China in October 2023.
Four injured in by ‘Soviet-era’ bombing of Kharkiv, Kyiv says
Four people were injured in fresh Russian attacks on the battered city of Kharkiv in Ukraine’s northeast, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday.
A man and three women were injured in shelling by Russian forces early on Tuesday, Oleh Sinehubov, governor of the broader Kharkiv region of which Kharkiv city is the administrative centre, said on the Telegram messaging app.
Sinehubov said that Russia attacked Ukraine’s second largest city with its new UMPB D-30 bombs, Soviet-era retrofitted high-precision guided bombs that behave like a cruise missile.
Both Ukraine and Russia say they do not target civilians in the war which erupted when Russia invaded its smaller neighbour in February of 2022, which Moscow has called a “special military operation”.
Ukraine says it destroyed all 18 drones that Russia launched
Air defence systems destroyed all 18 attack drones that Russia launched overnight at Ukrainian territory, Ukraine’s air force said today.
The drones were downed over several regions, including Kyiv and a number of frontline regions, the air force said.
The air force also said that Russia launched one Iskander-M ballistic missile. It was not clear what happened to the missile.
Houses hit as Russia’s Belgorod again comes under attack
A fresh wave of Ukrainian air attacks on Russia’s Belgorod damaged a power line and nearly two dozen houses in the early hours today, Russian officials said.
Russia’s defence ministry claimed it destroyed over 25 missiles over the border region.
“There is one casualty – a woman has received a shrapnel wound to her spine,” Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on his Telegram channel.
He said that about 24 houses and a power line were damaged.
The defence ministry confirmed the attack and said its air defence systems destroyed 25 missiles launched by Ukraine from the RM-70 Vampire (MLRS) multiple launch rocket systems.
This comes after an attack on Belgorod where 15 people were killed and scores injured on Sunday when parts of an apartment block collapsed after being struck by falling missile debris, Russian officials said.
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2024-05-14 08:22:02Z
CBMiamh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmluZGVwZW5kZW50LmNvLnVrL25ld3Mvd29ybGQvZXVyb3BlL3J1c3NpYS11a3JhaW5lLXdhci1uZXdzLXB1dGluLWtoYXJraXYtYmF0dGxlLWIyNTQ0NTUwLmh0bWzSAQA
