THE WEEK
Ukrainian forces have regained control of areas in the northeastern Kharkiv region that were recently occupied by Russian troops, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced. However, an aerial attack on Saturday killed two people in the city of Kharkiv, the regional capital. Kharkiv, located about 20 kilometers from the Russian border, has been under intense pressure as Moscow’s troops captured nearby villages in an effort to get within artillery range of the city. Since the offensive began on May 10, over 11,000 people have been evacuated from the region.
Despite Zelenskyy’s declaration of Ukrainian combat control, Russian officials presented a conflicting narrative. Viktor Vodolatskiy, a member of Russia’s lower house of parliament, claimed that Russian forces controlled more than half of the town of Vovchansk, just 3 miles inside the border.
Vovchansk has been a focal point of the fighting, and Vodolatskiy suggested that securing this town would allow Russian forces to advance towards Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, and Pokrovsk in the neighboring Donetsk region, indicating ongoing strategic objectives and continued conflict in the area.
