Ukraine Battles To Hold Back Russia Advance

Kharkiv, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th May, 2024) Ukraine battled Thursday "stabilise" the front line in the northeast Kharkiv region, where Moscow has made its largest territorial gains in 18 months after launching an offensive last week.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said more more reinforcements had been sent to the area, and the Ukrainian army said it had partially halted Russia's advance.

But the head of the Kharkiv region said Moscow had gained ground near the border village of Lyptsi and had "not given up" capturing the town of Vovchansk.

"Our task at the moment is to stabilise the front line," said governor Oleg Synegubov.

Ukraine accused Russian troops of executing civilians in territory it had captured, and of using some civilians in Vovchansk as "human shields".

The fresh Russian offensive has further stretched Ukraine's outgunned and outmanned forces.

Moscow seized 278 square kilometres (107 square miles) of Ukrainian territory between May 9 and 15, according to AFP calculations based on data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) -- the largest territorial gain in a single operation since mid-December 2022.