Russian forces ramp up strikes in Kharkiv as Ukraine troops flee Donetsk village

Ukraine’s troops withdrew from the village of Prohres in the Donetsk region as they faced a risk of being trapped by Russian forces, the DeepState map service said.

Separately, the Ukrainian General Staff said Kremlin troops had intensified combat assaults in the Kharkiv region. The latest push by Russia came near the settlement of Hlyboke, not far from the heavily damaged town of Vovchansk.

Russia also allocated additional manpower around the town of Murom, near the Ukraine-Russia border and between Hlyboke and Vovchansk, Nazar Voloshyn, spokesperson of Ukrainian “Khortysia” command, told Interfax-Ukraine on sunday.

The aim, he said, is to prepare for new offensive actions in the area, which earlier saw stepped-up activity by Moscow’s forces in May.

Russia’s recent objective in the region has been to push Ukrainian forces further from the border with Belgorod, and approach to within “tube artillery” range of Kharkiv City, according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War. Russia has located additional assault groups near Hlyboke, ISW said.

The withdrawal from tiny Prohres was the second within a week from a strategic position in the nation’s east. Kyiv’s forces also left the southern village of Krynky on the left bank of the Dnipro River that they’d held for months, after sustaining heavy combat losses.

Prohres, in the Pokrovsk district northwest of Avdiivka, has been under Russian assault since late April as part of the general effort of President Vladimir Putin’s troops to press further west.

The DeepState analysts said Ukrainian troops in the vicinity of the village need to regroup and that Kremlin troops may advance further in their bid to cut off the Pokrovsk-Kostyantynivka highway - an important conduit for weapons supplies.

Russia’s defense ministry also claimed it carried out a missile strike on two Ukrainian units in the area of Barvinkove, in the Kharkiv region, destroying dozens of pieces of equipment and causing multiple casualties.

The information can’t be independently verified. Regional governor Oleh Synehubov confirmed a Russian strike on Saturday, saying civilian targets including residential houses and administrative buildings had been hit and two civilians killed.

Russia said Ukraine attacked its Belgorod region directly north of the nations’ border with about 14 drones overnight, of which seven were intercepted. The others damaged private homes and cars and left nine people injured, local governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram.

Ukraine, in its turn, said its air defense intercepted 35 out of 39 drones over 10 regions overnight, including around Kyiv, launched from Russian territory and occupied Crimea.

The border regions of Sumy, Kharkiv and Kherson came under missile attack, with more than ten people injured, according to local authorities.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy posted a video roundup of recent strikes, saying they wouldn’t be possible if Ukraine is able “to destroy the carriers of these bombs - Russian military aircraft - wherever they are.”

“Our sufficient long-range capabilities should be a fair response to Russian terror,” Zelenskiy said on the ocial media platform X.

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