Kiev –
Russian forces launched an armored ground assault on Friday near Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city in the country’s northeast, and made small advances, opening a new front in a long-running war between the east and south.
Ukraine sent reinforcements as fighting raged in the region’s border areas, the Defense Ministry said, adding that Russia had bombarded the border town of Vovchansk with guided aerial bombs and artillery.
“Russia has started a new wave of counter-offensive actions in this direction,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a news conference in Kiev. “Now there is a fierce struggle in this direction.”
