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Russia said on Friday it was sending reinforcements to the Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine, where Kyiv says it has re-taken dozens of settlements as part of a broader counter-offensive.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address that Ukrainian troops had retaken 30 areas from Russian forces.
“We are gradually taking control over new settlements. We are returning the Ukrainian flag and protection for our citizens everywhere,” he said, calling on Ukrainians to report any crimes committed by the occupying forces.
In the Kharkiv region, Ukrainian officials have exhumed two bodies in a village recently recaptured from Russia, part of an investigation into a possible war crime.
Grakove village was the scene of fierce fighting in the early weeks of Russia’s invasion.
Russian state media broadcast footage of military vehicles travelling along paved roads and dirt tracks in Kharkiv region, emblazoned with the letter “Z”, the symbol of Moscow’s invasion.
A Moscow-installed official, Vitaliy Ganchev, said in televised remarks that “fierce battles” were under way near the town of Balakliya, which Ukraine said it had recaptured on Thursday.
“We do not control Balakliya. Attempts are being made to dislodge the Ukrainian forces, but there are fierce battles, and our troops are being held back on the approaches,” Ganchev said.
“Now Russian reserves have been brought there, our troops are fighting back,” he added.
Fresh shelling of nuclear plant
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meanwhile warned of “dramatic” developments at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine where recent fighting had “compromised the safe operation” of the facility.
IAEA Secretary General Rafael Grossi warned that fresh shelling near the plant had caused a blackout in the nearby town…
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Source : france24
