Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky called on his people not to panic amid Russia’s ongoing advance in the Kharkiv region that’s jeopardising a local city.
Russia reported multiple fatalities after the partial collapse of a residential building in Belgorod it said was struck by a missile, hours after one of its largest oil refineries was hit by drone debris.
Ukraine’s military chief described the situation in the Kharkiv region near the northeast border with Russia as “difficult”, as his troops struggled to hold back Kremlin advances there.
South Korea was closely investigating the possible use of a North Korean rocket launcher by Russia in an attack on Ukraine, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Zelensky urges calm as Russia advances in Kharkiv region
Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, called on his people not to panic amid Russia’s ongoing advance in the Kharkiv region that’s jeopardising a local city.
Ukrainians should trust in their army defending the country’s northeastern border area and not “yield to emotions” despite the fierce fight there and the “extremely difficult” situation on the outskirts of Vovchansk, Zelensky said in his regular evening statement on Sunday.
Along with several other towns and villages, Vovchansk — a city located only a few kilometres from the border with Russia — is under constant fire from advancing Russian troops, according to local authorities who initiated a mass evacuation. Nearly 500 residents remain in the city, which had a population of almost 18,000 before the war, Oleh Synyehubov, a regional governor said on Telegram. Ukraine’s troops were attempting a counter-attack near Vovchansk, Zelensky said.
“The advance in the Kharkiv region aims to stretch our forces and undermine their morale and motivation,” he said. “Defence battles have never been simple, and they become even more challenging when an enemy manages to instil fear.”
Zelensky’s comments were accompanied by statements from Vovchansk’s authorities, who asserted that the Kremlin was spreading fake news by promoting a narrative that the local government had fled the city after its capture.
“There are villages that have transformed from ‘a grey zone’ into a zone of fighting and invaders are attempting to dig in in several of them, while others serve for their further advance,” Zelensky said.
Russia says Belgorod high-rise hit, with multiple fatalities
Russia reported multiple fatalities after the partial collapse of a residential building in Belgorod it said was struck by a missile, hours after one of its largest oil refineries was hit by drone debris.
Sections of a 10-story apartment block collapsed, the Belgorod region’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said in a Telegram post.
At least six people were reported killed and 20 injured, Interfax reported, citing the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Rescue efforts were continuing.
Russia’s defence ministry said the building was hit by debris from a Soviet-era Tochka-U tactical ballistic missile. Investigators have opened a criminal case into the incident, Interfax said. Ukraine hasn’t commented.
Belgorod, which lies about 40km from the Ukrainian border, is regularly shelled. Moscow has stated its intention to create a “buffer zone” stretching into Ukrainian territory to reduce the risks of further strikes into Russian territory.
Early on Sunday morning, debris from a downed drone triggered a blaze at Lukoil’s large oil refinery in Volgograd, hundreds of kilometres east of the Ukrainian border, which authorities said was extinguished with no casualties.
“During the night of May 12, the air defence and electronic warfare forces fought off a drone on the territory of the Volgograd region,” Governor Andrey Bocharov wrote on Telegram.
Unverified images on social media showed flames shooting from the facility. The extent of damage was unclear, and Lukoil had not commented.
Ukraine’s intelligence agency claimed the overnight strike in addition to one targeting the same refinery the previous night.
Kyiv sees ‘difficult’ situation at northeast border as Russia advances
Ukraine’s military chief described the situation in the Kharkiv region near the northeast border with Russia as “difficult”, as his troops struggled to hold back Kremlin advances there.
While Kyiv’s forces had repelled attempts of Moscow troops to break their defences in the nation’s northeast, the situation had “significantly worsened” in the past week, according to Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi.
Russian forces were able to achieve “partial” success in several areas, he said on Telegram without elaborating on the exact locations or providing further details.
The surprise Russian assault is likely to stretch Ukraine’s already outgunned and outmanned forces as it may push Kyiv to redeploy some of its troops from the long front line in the east. Ukraine is trying to hold its ground as it awaits the arrival of US military aid.
Disrupting Russia’s latest offensive was now the number one task for Ukraine’s forces, Zelensky said in his nightly video address on Saturday.
Russia’s defence ministry on Sunday claimed its troops had made deeper advances in the Kharkiv border region, “liberating” a total of nine settlements over the weekend.
The monitoring platform Deep State said Russia now occupied six villages in the area, north of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. Military authorities in Kyiv haven’t confirmed the capture of those locations, saying instead that fighting is ongoing.
The objective of Russia’s stepped-up offensive in the Kharkiv region appears to be to establish a “buffer zone” into Ukraine to minimise strikes into Russian territory.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Moscow’s troops continued to make tactically significant gains over the weekend “in likely less defended areas”.
The reported sizes of the amassed troops “indicate that Russian forces are not pursuing a large-scale operation to envelop, encircle, or seize Kharkiv City at this time,” ISW said.
Seoul says Russia may have used North Korean rocket launcher
South Korea was closely investigating the possible use of a North Korean rocket launcher by Russia in an attack on Ukraine, Yonhap News Agency reported.
There was circumstantial evidence that weapons Russia used in the attack included a 122mm North Korean multiple-rocket launcher from the 1970s, Yonhap reported, citing South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS).
The US has accused North Korea of sending some of its newest missiles to Russia. In return, it is said Moscow was probably providing North Korean leader Kim Jung-un with weapons, cash and commodities that help prop up his sanctions-hit economy.
In January, the NIS released a photo of a North Korean rocket part to show Hamas fighters used an F-7 rocket-propelled grenade launcher manufactured in North Korea. The spy agency has said that it is “collecting and accumulating specific evidence regarding the scale and timing of North Korea’s supply of weapons to Hamas and others”.
Ukraine thwarts Russian attacks on border as civilians flee
Ukraine’s military repelled attempts by Kremlin forces to push further into the northern Kharkiv region on Saturday, the country’s General Staff said.
Intense fighting has been seen since Moscow’s troops, supported by newly arrived armoured vehicles, conducted an assault near the town of Vovchansk on Friday and advanced by about 1km, a senior Ukrainian military official said.
The ISW said Moscow’s goal in the Kharkiv region appears focused more on distracting Ukrainian forces than on regaining territory liberated by Ukraine in 2022, months after it was seized at the start of Russia’s invasion of its neighbour.
Read more: Zelensky says Russia attempts a new offensive near Kharkiv
While the operation has made tactically significant gains, it probably “has limited operational objectives but is meant to achieve the strategic effect of drawing Ukrainian manpower and material from other critical sectors,” ISW said in a report on Friday.
“Russian forces will likely leverage their tactical foothold in northern Kharkiv oblast in the coming days to intensify offensive operations,” ISW added.
Civilians in settlements near the new front in the embattled Kharkiv region have been asked to evacuate. Regional governor Oleh Synehubov said at least three were killed and seven injured in the town of Vovchansk and surrounding areas, miles from the Russian border, due to ongoing shelling, and that about 2,000 had been moved to safer areas.
The city of Kharkiv, which had a pre-war population of about 1.4 million, planned to open its first totally underground school on Monday, local mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram.
“Until we get appropriate air defence, face-to-face studying with teachers is possible only underground,” Terekhov said.
Russian occupation officials reported three civilians dead and eight injured on Saturday in a strike on a restaurant in Donetsk. Ukraine hasn’t commented.
Separately, an oil depot in Rovenky, in the Luhansk region occupied by Russia, was attacked by Ukrainian weaponry late on Friday, local authorities said.
They assumed a strike by a US Atacms system but offered no evidence or further details. Four people were killed and 11 injured in the ensuing explosion, Tass reported, citing regional health minister. One man was killed in Russia’s Kursk region in a Ukrainian drone attack, the region’s governor said.
Ukraine’s intelligence agency claimed a drone strike on an oil refinery in Russia’s Volgograd region. The region’s governor said UAVs were “intercepted and destroyed” by Russia’s defense ministry, with no damage or casualties.
Russian prime minister plans to keep Alexander Novak as deputy
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin submitted to legislators his proposals on the new government, which would include keeping Alexander Novak as his deputy in charge of energy.
Novak (52) has served as deputy PM since 2020 and before that was energy minister from 2012. Novak has represented Russia in talks with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) since 2016 and helped forge the historic cooperation agreement between Opec and nations outside the group to coordinate production and prevent a supply glut, including the deal on historic cuts in 2020.
If approved by the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, Novak will take on oversight of various economic tasks, including crafting measures to counter international sanctions, in addition to his energy portfolio, according to the statement, which was published on the government website Saturday evening.
The Duma will vote on deputy prime ministers on May 13 and ministers on May 14.
Russia’s government formally resigned after President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration on Tuesday for a fifth term. Legislators on Friday voted to reappoint Mishustin as prime minister after Putin nominated him to continue in the post he’s held for more than four years. DM