“Everything alive is burned, then they enter this area”: Russians advance in Ukraine in the Kharkiv region

Scène d’évacuation, lundi, dans la région de Kharkiv. MAXPPP – GEORGE IVANCHENKO

A hero of the Battle of Kherson appointed to lead the kyiv troops there to resist.

The Russian army continued its powerful offensive on Monday in the Kharkiv oblast, a region in northeastern Ukraine. It deployed small units to increase attacks and break through the defense lines of the Ukrainian army, which is in difficulty, according to the local governor, Oleh Syniehoubov.

Russian forces opened this new front on Friday, advancing into Ukrainian territory with the support of intense shelling near Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city with about 1,000 inhabitants. 3 million inhabitants.

"The situation is difficult"

"The enemy is trying to extend (the front line, Editor's note) by attacking in small groups, in new directions. The situation is difficult", Oleh Syniehoubov explained on television.

The Ukrainian General Staff admitted on Monday on Telegram that the Russian army had achieved "a partial success", near the town of Loukyantsi. In its daily report, the Ukrainian army even speaks of "tactical successes"  of the opposing party, which would have committed "up to five battalions".

Fights and evacuations

kyiv announces the deployment of reinforcements to try to stabilize the situation. But fighting rages around Vovchansk, about five kilometers from the Russian border. 5,700 people have been evacuated in this area and the authorities are urging residents still there – around 300, according to local authorities – to leave the area.

Volodymyr Timochko, head of the regional police, explained on public television Suspilne that Russia was heavily bombing certain areas to occupy them. "First, an area is bombed, everything alive is burned, then they enter that area", a-t -he describes.

Ukrainian forces manage to contain the Russian army, but there are fears that fighting will spread to other localities, warns the governor of Kharkiv.

Heads fall in command

Moscow has already announced on Sunday the conquest of nine localities. On Monday, Russia added that its forces had strengthened their positions and inflicted losses on the Ukrainian defense forces.

As the situation becomes more and more tense on the ground, the officer in charge of operations on the Kharkiv front was replaced, on May 11, by the brigadier general Mykhaïlo Drapatyi, we learned on Monday.

Mykhaïlo Drapatyi had worked for the liberation of the southern region of Kherson in November 2022. This made him a hero in his country and earned him a promotion to Deputy Chief of Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

On Sunday, Vladimir Putin, for his part, dismissed his Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, replaced by economist Andreï Beloussov.

Long-term European support ?

The European Union (EU) wishes to commit to support security from Ukraine à long term, guaranteeing à kyiv more weapons, military training and other support for years to come to come, according to a draft document unveiled by the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. In the event of future aggression, the document states that the EU and Ukraine have the right to ;intend to consult within 24 hours on the needs of Kiev and "to quickly determine" the next & steps, in accordance with the commitments. European officials hope to reach an agreement on these commitments in June or July. This document is part of a broader effort by Ukraine's allied countries, aiming to achieve this goal. guarantee long-term support while there is no way out. war against the Russian invader is not in sight.