Ukraine troops pull back in Kharkiv after Russia’s offensive
Ukraine has withdrawn its troops from several villages in the border region of Kharkiv due to sustained pressure from Russian forces.
Soldiers faced intense gunfire and relocated to “more advantageous positions” in two areas of the northeastern region, as stated by a military spokesperson.
Traditionally, Ukraine has used such language to indicate a retreat during the two-year conflict.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has called off all forthcoming foreign trips as the military struggles to contain the latest cross-border incursion, which has resulted in heavy shelling of several towns and villages.
His press secretary, Sergiy Nykyforov, stated that the president had “directed that all international engagements planned for the upcoming days be postponed and new dates arranged.”
Moscow has asserted that its forces have seized control of two additional settlements in the region – Lukyantski and Hlyboke – along with the village of Robotyne in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.
However, Ukraine maintains that its military still holds the majority of Robotyne, according to a spokesperson for an army brigade fighting there, as reported by news outlet Ukrayinska Pravda.
“They [Russian troops] are only on the outskirts,” Serhiy Skibchyk told the publication. “Inside the village, there are still our positions.”
Robotyne was among the few settlements reclaimed by Kyiv during its summer counter-offensive last year.
A military spokesperson explained that the decision to relocate troops from the Lukyantsi and Vovchansk areas aimed to “safeguard the lives of our servicemen and prevent casualties.”
Although the capture of Vovchansk holds no particular military significance, it would deal a blow to Ukrainian morale.
The military spokesperson acknowledged that the situation “remains challenging” but asserted that Ukrainian forces were “preventing the Russian occupiers from establishing a foothold.”
In a statement on Wednesday at 13:30 local time, the military reported three clashes in the Kharkiv region, with Russian forces advancing towards Lyptsi, approximately midway between Kharkiv city and the Russian border.
The statement mentioned that two strikes hit the villages of Lyptsi and Mala Danylivka, while Ukrainian forces “repelled” an offensive in Vovchansk.
Subsequently, Ukraine’s general staff announced that heavy enemy fire from Russian forces had prompted the Ukrainian military to reposition some troops in the Kupiansk direction, about 118 km southwest of Kharkiv city. They added that they had repelled 20 attacks in that area.
Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s head of intelligence, previously stated that troops had stabilized the front line.
Thousands of civilians have fled west in recent days towards Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv – including from the town of Vovchansk, located 74km (45 miles) away.
Oleksiy Kharkivskiy, Vovchansk’s police chief, said on social media that fighting was intense and Russian forces were establishing positions inside the town.
“The situation is extremely difficult. The enemy is taking positions on the streets of the town of Vovchansk,” he said.
Kyiv has sent reinforcements to the wider Kharkiv region following Friday’s incursion – seen as one of Russia’s most significant ground attacks since it launched its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
“Additional forces are being deployed, and there are reserves,” President Zelensky’s office said on Wednesday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced an additional $2bn in military aid to the Ukrainian war effort while on a visit to Kyiv.
Mr Blinken told reporters on Wednesday the fund would provide weapons “today” and invest in Ukraine’s industrial base.
“We’re rushing ammunition, armored vehicles, missiles, air defenses to get them to the front lines,” Mr Blinken said.
“We’ve been through challenging times together, I have every confidence that together we will get through these difficult moments.”
It comes weeks after US Congress passed a $61bn aid package last month.
Away from Kharkiv, Russia said earlier it had temporarily closed two major airports in the southwestern region of Kazan after targeted Ukrainian drone attacks. Ukraine has not commented on the strike.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also said on Wednesday that Ukrainian attacks in Russia’s Belgorod border region were a demonstration of the “criminality” of Kyiv and the Western powers that back it.
Unlike with Ukrainian territory which Russia occupies, Kyiv has reluctantly agreed with Western allies to not use the missiles it provides on targets inside Russia itself.
