Ukrainian Army Commander Oleksandr Sersky confirmed on Sunday that his country’s forces are facing a difficult situation in the ongoing fighting in the Kharkiv region, but he pointed out that the soldiers are doing their best to hold on.
Russia has been launching a new attack on the Kharkiv region in northern Ukraine since Friday, which opens a new battle front in the war Department about 27 months ago.
“The units of the Defense Forces are waging fierce defensive battles,” Sersky wrote on Telegram. “Attempts by the Russian invaders to break through our defenses have been stopped.”
He said: “The situation is very difficult, but the Ukrainian Defense Forces are doing everything in their power to hold out at the defense lines and positions and inflict losses on the enemy.”
Russian forces control new villages in Kharkiv
For its part, the Russian Ministry of Defense said on Sunday that Russian forces took control of four other villages in Kharkiv region In Ukraine, they are Hattyshchi, Krasny, Morokhovets, and Olennikovy, which are located on the border with the Russian Belgorod region.
Yesterday, Saturday, Moscow announced that it had taken control of five villages, while Kiev said that it was repelling the attacks and fighting to maintain control over those villages.
Russia aims to create a buffer zone between the Kharkiv and Sumy border regions, with the aim of undermining attacks by Ukrainian forces on nearby Russian areas.
Dead and wounded in Belgorod
Russian officials also announced that at least seven people were killed and 17 others were injured when part of a multi-storey residential building collapsed in the Russian city of Belgorod due to the fall of a Soviet-era missile launched by Ukraine and intercepted by Russian air defense systems.
They reported that it was an attack using Tochka ballistic missiles, Adler multiple launch rocket systems and the RM-70 Vampire. Footage from the site showed the collapse of at least 10 floors of the building. Later, while emergency crews were searching for survivors among the rubble, the roof of the building collapsed amid people trying to save their lives.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that the attack, which it described as a “terrorist attack on residential areas,” occurred at 08:40 GMT and at least 12 missiles were used.
The ministry added, “Fragments of one of the Tochka-U missiles that were shot down caused damage to a residential building in the city of Belgorod.” Russian news agencies reported that at least seven people were killed and 17 others were injured, including two children. Others are still trapped under the rubble.