KYIV: Russian strikes on the eastern Ukraine city of Kharkiv have killed four people, the regional governor said Thursday. According to AFP, the surrounding region of Kharkiv has become the latest flashpoint of the conflict following Russian forces launched a surprise ground attack in the border territory this month forcing the evacuation of thousands of people in the region.
In a statement via social media, Governor Oleg Synegubov said that four people have been killed in the strike on Kharkiv region. Synegubov said that the location of two more people is being ascertained.
Kharkiv lies just dozens of kilometres from the border with Russia, has been under persistent strikes since Moscow’s troops invaded in February 2022.
Meanwhile, the head of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, which the Kremlin says is part of Russian territory, said a man was killed by Russian strikes on the village of Mala Tokmachka. Russian troops have in recent weeks made their biggest territorial gains in the war-battered east of the last several months as Kyiv waits for desperately needed European and US weapon supplies.
The advances in Kharkiv region have forced about 11,000 people to flee their houses since Russia launched its ground offensive on May 10, regional officials stated.
Russian officials, meanwhile stated that Ukrainian strikes on the border region of Belgorod and in the occupied Ukrainian region of Donetsk left at least two dead.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said his military launched the operation in Kharkiv to create a buffer zone that would protect Russian border villages from Ukrainian strikes.
