Ukrainian forces have repelled Russian troops and regained control of part of the border with Russia in the northeastern Kharkiv region, Ukrainian authorities announced on Monday.
Four people have been killed in missile strikes in the past 24 hours, including two in the shelling of a hospital in Severodonetsk, Lugansk region (east), and two in Mykolaiv (south), according to Ukrainian authorities .
“The 227th Battalion of the 127th Territorial Defense Brigade of the Kharkiv Armed Forces expelled the Russians and settled on the border,” the ministry said on its Facebook page, posting a video of armed soldiers in front of a pole. border painted in yellow and blue, colors of the Ukrainian flag, and with a trident, the coat of arms of Ukraine.
“We are proud of our soldiers who restored the border sign. We thank all those who, at the risk of their lives, liberate Ukraine from Russian invaders,” Kharkiv region governor Oleg Sinegoubov wrote on Telegram.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiï Arestovich for his part assured Sunday evening that the Russians were transferring troops from the Kharkiv region to that of Lugansk, in the Donbass, with the aim of taking the city of Severodonetsk.
“To obtain a semblance of victory, the enemy is concentrating on two objectives: either to advance towards the borders of the Lugansk region (part of which has been controlled since 2014 by pro-Russian separatists), or to take Severodonetsk”, the current regional capital under control of Kyiv, Luhansk region governor Sergiy Gaidai said in a video on Telegram.
The governor reported on the Sunday bombardment of a hospital in Severodonetsk which left two dead and nine injured.
The city of Mykolaiv was the target of a series of missile strikes which left two dead, according to the Ukrainian presidency’s update published on Monday morning.
In Lviv, western Ukraine, Deputy Mayor Andriï Moskalenko reported on the consequences of a Russian cyberattack on May 13, which allowed access to “certain city files that were stolen and published on enemy Telegram channels”.