Thousands flee northeast Ukraine as Russia presses renewed border assault

Vilcha, May 12

Thousands more civilians have fled Russia’s renewed ground offensive in Ukraine’s northeast that has targeted towns and villages with a barrage of artillery and mortar fire, officials said Sunday.

The intense battles have forced at least one Ukrainian unit to withdraw in the Kharkiv region, capitulating more land to Russian forces across less defended settlements in the so-called contested “gray zone” along the Russian border.

By Sunday afternoon, the town of Vovchansk, with a prewar population of 17,000, emerged as a focal point in the battle. Volodymyr Tymoshko, the head of the Kharkiv regional police, said Russian forces were in the outskirts of the town and approaching from three directions.

At least 4,000 civilians have fled the Kharkiv region since Friday, when Moscow’s forces launched the operation, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. Heavy fighting raged Sunday along the northeast frontline, where Russian forces attacked 27 settlements, he said. — AP

8 killed in building collapse

• An apartment block partially collapsed in the Russian border city of Belgorod on Sunday, leaving eight persons dead and 20 others injured. Officials blamed Ukrainian shelling for the destruction
• Online footage showed rescuers searching for survivors among the remnants of the building’s stairwell, then fleeing the scene as part of the roof crashed to the ground