Russia-Ukraine war live: Kyiv sends reinforcements to Kharkiv and evacuates civilians as Russian forces advance | World news

Russian forces advanced one kilometer (0.62 mi) inland of Ukraine northeast Kharkiv area near Vovchansk, a senior Ukrainian military source said on Friday.

According to Reuters, the source said the Russian military was aiming to advance up to 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) into the region in an attempt to create a buffer zone. Ukrainian forces were struggling to hold off Moscow’s advance.

More reports are coming in about the situation in Kharkiv region.

Ukraine The Defense Ministry said on Friday it had sent military reinforcements to help repel Russian attacks in the border areas of the Kharkiv region in the northeast.

He added that Russian troops tried to break through with armored vehicles early in the morning but were repulsed, Reuters reported.

The ministry said:

Around 5 o’clock in the morning, there was an attempt by the enemy to break through our defense line under the cover of armored vehicles.

As of now, these attacks have been repelled; battles of varying intensity continue.

Although Russia’s offensive is focused on the Donetsk region, Kiev has seen a recent troop build-up near the Kharkiv region.

Ukrainian civilians from Kharkiv the regional town of Vovchansk and surrounding areas are being evacuated on Friday due to increased Russian shelling, a local official said.

Tamaz Gambarashvili, head of the Vovchansk military administration, told Ukrainian radio Hromadske:

Most of them leave with their own transport. But at the same time, together with the humanitarian center, we organize transport for those who do not have cars.

Russia’s Victory Day parade was “reduced in scale” compared to previous pre-war parades, the UK Ministry of Defense said.

Parades were canceled in 24 cities, mostly those in border regions Ukraine probably due to “bad security”. This compares with 21 canceled parades in 2023, the MoD added.

Of the 30 units on parade, “over two-thirds” come from “military academies, youth and veterans groups.” Homeland security and emergency response teams were also on parade. A total of 9,000 military cadets, veterans and service members participated, up from 8,000 in 2023. In 2021, before the war in Ukraine, participants totaled 11,000.

And there was a “lack of heavy armored vehicles or tracked military vehicles” and only one main battle tank compared to the 2020 parade, which featured 20.

The Ministry of Defense said:

With significant losses in Russian personnel and equipment as a result of the war in Ukraine, Russia had no opportunity to use the parades to demonstrate military power.

Good morning and welcome to our live blog as it’s 10am in Kyiv and Moscow.

Russian attacks across Ukraine killed two people and wounded 13 in the past day, regional authorities said. Civilian casualties were reported in Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporozhye, Kharkiv and Donetsk regions. Governor Sergei Lisak said a Russian attack on Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk region killed a 62-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman and wounded eight others, according to Kyiv independent.

This morning Vladimir Putin has reassigned Mikhail Mishustin like Prime Minister of Russia as the Associated Press reported that the lower house of parliament, the State Duma, would hold a meeting later today to consider his candidacy. He wrote that his approval was “merely pro forma c Kremlin-controlled parliament”.

In accordance with Russian law, Mishustin, 58, who had held the post for the past four years, resigned from his cabinet on Tuesday as Putin began his fifth presidential term at a glittering inauguration in the Kremlin.

The AP noted that his reappointment was “widely expected” and said Putin “appreciates his skills and lack of political ambition. Mishustin, the former head of Russia’s tax service, has kept a low profile, avoiding political statements and avoiding media interviews.

Meanwhile, Reuters says there is no indication that Putin is planning major changes to the government, which includes a veteran Sergei Shoiguin charge of Russia’s defense since 2012 and foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, in charge of Russian diplomacy for two decades. Analysts say keeping his government intact would send a message of stability and of Putin’s satisfaction with his team’s progress at home and abroad, Reuters reports.

However, there was turmoil in Kiev, where the Ukrainian president, Vladimir Zelenskylast night fired the head of the department in charge of his personal protection on Thursday, two days after two of its members were accused of preparing his murder. Zelensky issued a decree for the dismissal of the head of state security Sergei Rud. No successor has been designated.

Other news:

• Ukraine destroy them all 10 drones after Russia launched a nighttime attack in the Kharkiv region, but two people were injured and residential buildings were engulfed in fire as a result, Ukrainian officials said on Friday. The air force said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app that Russia also fired two anti-aircraft guided missiles.

• Ukraine drone strike hits oil refinery Kaluga region of Russia in a fire, state news agency RIA reported on Friday, citing emergency services sources.
  Vladislav Shapsha, governor of Kaluga Oblast, which borders the wider Moscow region, said on the Telegram messaging app that the fire was immediately extinguished. He did not say what facility it happened at. However, RIA reported that three containers of diesel fuel and one of fuel oil were consumed by the fire at the First Plant refinery in Kaluga.

• A solitary, symbolic tank is included in the Russia’s annual May 9 military parade for the second year in a row as the country has been forced to scale back its usual display of military might during a full-scale war in which it has suffered unprecedented losses in the past two years.