Russia pounds 30 towns and villages in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region

Russia launches ground offensive in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, forcing evacuations and achieving tactical success, escalating conflict.

Russia pounded over 30 villages and towns in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region after launching a ground offensive in the border region, forcing almost 6,000 to evacuate, the Governor said on Monday.

Ukraine's General Staff acknowledged on Monday that Russia "currently is achieving tactical success" after driving a wedge into Kyiv's defences.

Russia's Defence Ministry said on Monday that troops had "improved the tactical position and dealt a blow to (Ukrainian) manpower" around border villages including Lyptsi and the town of Vovchansk.

"They are shelling the villages, firing on everything they can," Sergiy Kryvetchenko, deputy head of the military administration in the village of Lyptsi, told AFP.

"The KABs (guided aerial bombs) are flying. The artillery is flying. Drones. Everything," he said.

On Friday, Russia began an offensive across its border into the Kharkiv region and later claimed to have taken several villages in the region near the border.

The situation in the Kharkiv region is "complex and dynamically changing", with Russian troops mounting assaults in various areas, Ukraine's General Staff said.