Ukrainian forces have "stopped" Russia from advancing in the northeastern Kharkiv region and are now counterattacking. However, Moscow is stepping up its offensive in other parts of the front, the Ukrainian army said.
Kiev has been fighting a new Russian ground offensive in the Kharkov region since May 10, when thousands of Moscow soldiers stormed the border, making its biggest territorial advance in 18 months.
President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the region's capital to discuss the battle for Vovchansk, a town less than five kilometres from the border, AFP reported.
"The Ukrainian Defence Forces have stopped Russian troops in the Kharkiv sector... The situation is under control, counter-offensive actions are underway," the army said.
Despite initial successes, "the enemy completely bogged down in the street fighting for Vovchansk and suffered very heavy losses in assault units," Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Sirskyi said on social media.
In an attempt to retake the city, Russia "is currently transferring reserves from different sectors to support active assault operations, but to no avail," Sirsky added.
But he warned that the situation was unsettled on the eastern front, where Russia claims its forces have made a number of gains in the past two weeks.
The fighting near the eastern towns of Chasiv Yar, Pokrovsk and Kurahovo was particularly "intense," he said.
Russia said it had made an offensive near the town of Bakhmut in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.
Just three days earlier, it said it had captured the village of Bilohorivka, a key target for Moscow, which is trying to wrest control of the entire Luhansk region from Kiev.
Moscow said it had launched the offensive in northeastern Ukraine to create a "buffer zone" along the border to prevent future Ukrainian attacks on its territory.
As Ukraine moved troops into the northeast, Kiev again accused Moscow of deliberately targeting civilians in the strikes.
The state-run railway operator Ukrainian Railways reported a series of attacks on the Kharkov region's railway system overnight, damaging tracks, carriages and buildings.
"The enemy continues to make deliberate attempts to stop the railway in Kharkiv region," he said on Telegram.
The company shared photos showing smoke rising from a smashed carriage, twisted metal and debris near the tracks and a depot with several broken windows.
Long-distance and suburban trains are running on schedule, the state rail monopoly said, despite repeated Russian strikes on the network that is vital to civilians and the military alike.
At least seven people were killed in the strikes on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, local authorities said.
More than 11,000 people in the wider region have been evacuated since Russia launched its new offensive two weeks ago, according to the local governor, Oleg Sinegubov.
Separately, Ukraine fired missiles at the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula overnight, killing two "bystanders," said the Russian-appointed head of the region, Sergei Aksyonov. / BGNES
