Ukraine: Russian advance forces evacuation of civilians near Kharkiv

The Ukrainian government on Thursday ordered the evacuation of children and their families from the Kharkiv region in the northeast of the country, as Russian forces continue their advance towards the country’s second largest city.

According to Kharkiv Governor Oleg Synegoubov, at least 267 children and their families are to be evacuated from 16 towns along the approaching front line.

This decision is due to intensification of enemy bombardmentshe explained.

The area affected by these evacuations is near the town of Kupiansk, first occupied by Russian forces from the first days of the war, then recaptured by the Ukrainian army in the fall of 2022.

Better armed and more numerous than before, Russian troops are increasing pressure on northeastern Ukraine to retake this important railway junction.

Further south, in the Donetsk region, Russian soldiers are at the gates of Pokrovsk, an important town for the logistics of the Ukrainian army, and also seem on the way to seizing the stronghold of Chassiv Iar.

These towns, like many others, were emptied of their residents as the fighting approached, transforming their streets into deserted fields of ruins.

In this part of the front, the Russian thrust continues westwards, towards the Dnipropetrovsk region. The village of Soloné, eight kilometers from the border of this region, is now under Russian control, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Thursday.

The Kremlin unimpressed by Trump’s threats

In Washington, the new President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly praised his ability to quickly end the Russian invasion, on Wednesday threatened Russia with new sanctions if it did not conclude NOW an agreement with Ukraine.

Rather cold in the face of this ultimatum, the spokesperson for the Russian presidency, Dmitri Peskov, said on Thursday that he did not see nothing particularly new in the words of the billionaire. He nevertheless assured that Moscow remained ready to dialogue on an equal footing and with mutual respect.

The Ukrainian government, for its part, fears being abandoned by the new American administration and being pushed to the negotiating table where it will be forced to cede to the Russians the territories they occupy in Ukraine.

Former General Keith Kellogg, appointed by Donald Trump as envoy responsible for the Ukraine issue, has already demanded several concessions from kyiv.

The bombs are raining

Meanwhile, the Kremlin maintains pressure on kyiv by constantly bombing Ukrainian towns. At least three people were killed on Thursday and 50 others injured following Russian bombings on the towns of Kostiantynivka, Kupiansk and Zaporizhia.

According to Ivan Fedorov, governor of the Zaporizhia region, the region was the target of 361 strikes on 10 localities over the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, on Ukraine’s western flank, Germany has deployed at least two Patriot air defense systems to Poland in an effort to protect an important logistics position that helps deliver military equipment to Ukraine.

The two Patriot systems were positioned in the south-east of Poland, to secure in particular the Rzeszow airport, through which more than 90% of military and humanitarian aid intended for Ukraine passes.

The security of Poland and its airspace is at stakesaid Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz.

Germany, which must also carry out sky surveillance and in-flight refueling missions in Poland, is thus taking over from the Americans, who until now carried out these tasks.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius arrived in Poland on Thursday after visiting Lithuania, where his country deploys a brigade of 5,000 soldiers.

With information from Agence France-Presse