Foreign journalists report from an observation point while smoke rises after a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Friday, May 17, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Russian forces were pressing ahead on Friday with their offensive in north-east Ukraine as President Vladimir Putin said there were no current plans to occupy Kharkiv city, the regional capital.

On a trip to China, Mr. Putin said the assault was direct retaliation for Ukrainian shelling of Russia’s border regions and that Moscow was trying to create a “security zone”.

“This is their fault because they have shelled and continue to shell residential neighbourhoods in border areas,” Mr. Putin told reporters, adding there was no intention at this stage to take Kharkiv with its population of over one million about 40 km from the front lines.

Moscow launched the surprise offensive into Ukraine’s north east on May 10, sending thousands of troops across the border and unleashing artillery fire on several settlements, including the almost deserted town of Vovchansk.

Resisting onslaught

Oleg Synegubov, Governor of the Kharkiv region, said Russian forces were trying to surround Vovchansk, which had a pre-war population of around 18,000, and that Ukraine’s forces were “resisting” the Russian onslaught. “The enemy has actually started to destroy the city. It is not just dangerous to be there, but impossible,” Mr. Synegubov said in a briefing.

But he warned Russia was also gaining ground near Lukyantsi, a village much further west that Kyiv pulled back from earlier this week amid heavy fire.