Russia in bid on Ukraine’ s local defences

Russia pounded a town in Ukraine’s north-east with artillery, rockets and guided aerial bombs yesterday before attempting an infantry breach of local defences, authorities said.

It is a tactical switch that Kyiv officials have been expecting for weeks as the war stretches into its third year.

Intense night-time shelling targeted Vovchansk, in the Kharkiv region, less than 5km (three miles) from the Russian border, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said. The barrage prompted authorities to begin the evacuation of around 3,000 people.

Around dawn, Russian forces tried to pierce the Ukrainian defences near Vovchansk, Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said, adding that it had deployed reserve units to fend off the attack.

Analysts said assault could mark the the start of a Russian attempt to carve out a “buffer zone” that President Vladimir Putin vowed to create earlier this year to halt frequent Ukrainian attacks on Belgorod and other Russian border regions.

Ukraine had previously said it was aware that Russia was assembling thousands of troops along the north-eastern border, close to the Kharkiv and Sumy regions.

While the Kremlin’s forces have made their most recent ground thrust in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian intelligence officials said they expected the Kremlin’s forces to attack in the north-east, too.

Though Russia likely cannot capture Kharkiv,

Ukraine’s second-largest city, it could compel Ukraine to send more troops to the region, leaving other areas more vulnerable to attack. Also, forcing Ukrainian authorities to evacuate civilians is likely to create disruption resources.

“The entire town is under massive shelling now, it is not safe to stay here,” Vovchansk administration head Tamaz Hambarishvili told Ukraine’s Hromadske Radio. and divert

TARGETED: Rescuers at a house after a Russian missile attack in Kharkiv.