Ukrainian prosecutors say they are investigating attacks on civilians in two cities in the northeastern region of Kharkiv and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reported successes by troops fighting a Russian assault there.
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Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address that Ukrainian forces had grown in confidence, particularly in the Kharkiv region.
However, Russia's defence ministry said its forces captured the village of Starytsia in the Kharkiv region on Saturday, eight days after a new Russian push in the area began.
"The occupier is losing its infantry and equipment, a tangible loss, even though, just as in 2022, it was counting on a quick advance on our land," Zelenskiy said, referring to Russia's initial invasion of Ukraine in February of that year.
I thank each and every warrior who has demonstrated sufficient resilience and contributed to increased confidence, particularly in the Kharkiv direction, over the course of this week.
The occupiers lose tangible manpower and equipment, despite the fact that, as in 2022, they... pic.twitter.com/sRbiKdWtnn
-- Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Volodimir Zelens'kii (@ZelenskyyUa) May 18, 2024 n the eastern Donetsk region around Chasiv Yar, a city seen as a key target in Russia's campaign, Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces had repelled a Russian assault.
"Our soldiers destroyed more than 20 units of the occupier's armoured vehicles," he said.
Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield accounts.
Ukrainian prosecutors said they were investigating an air strike on a residential area of the regional capital Kharkiv in which five people were wounded, including a 13-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy.
In the city of Vovchansk, just 5km from the Russian border, the regional prosecutor said Russian shelling killed a 60-year-old woman and injured three other civilians.
A 59-year-old man was also injured in the village of Ukrainske, prosecutors said.
In the village of Stanislav in the southern region of Kherson, governor Oleksandr Prokudin said a Russian drone strike killed a man born in 1984 and injured a woman.
Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians but thousands have been killed and injured since its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians but thousands have been killed and injured since its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Australian Associated Press
