Ukraine says it repelled Russian bid to cross border
Kharkiv regional head Oleh Syniehubov said Russian reconnaissance groups had tried to penetrate the border, adding that "not a single metre has been lost".
Ukraine says it has repelled a Russian armoured attack in the north-eastern Kharkiv region, after Moscow's forces launched an incursion across the border and sought to break through defensive lines.
Kharkiv regional head Oleh Syniehubov said Russian reconnaissance groups had tried to penetrate the border, adding that "not a single metre has been lost".
"Russia has launched a new wave of counteroffensive operations in the Kharkiv sector," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukrainian commanders have been expecting a summer offensive for some time, possibly even a bid to capture the regional capital Kharkiv. But officials are adamant Russia does not have the resources to do so.
Russia had the capability to aggravate the situation in border areas but not the ability to capture Ukraine's second city, said the head of Ukraine's centre for countering disinformation, Andriy Kovalenko.
Ukrainian reports suggested Russia was trying to create a 10km buffer zone for its Belgorod region, after a series of Ukrainian cross-border attacks.
Friday's small incursions over the Russian border form a familiar yet disturbing axis for Ukrainian forces.
The defence ministry in Kyiv said the attack started with the heavy bombing of the town of Vovchansk "using guided aerial bombs" with the support of artillery. Then, small Russian “scouting groups” moved in across the border, reportedly in several places.
The local head in Vovchansk, 75km (45 miles) north-east of Kharkiv, said the town had come under heavy attack from the early hours of Friday and civilians were being evacuated. Some 3,000 people live in Vovchansk and at least one person was killed and five more injured in the barrage, according to Kharkiv's regional leader.
