KHARKIV’S DEFENSE FORCES HAVE REACHED THE RUSSIAN BORDER, UKRAINE SAYS

Ukrainian troops stand at the Ukraine-Russia border in what was said to be the Kharkiv region, Ukraine in this screen grab obtained from a video released on May 15, 2022. Ukrainian Ministry of Defence/Handout via REUTERS

Mon 16 May 2022:

Ukrainian troops defending the city of Kharkiv have reached the state border with Russia, the regional governor said on Monday.

Ukraine’s defence ministry said in a Facebook post that the 227th Battalion of the 127th Brigade of Ukraine’s armed forces had reached the border with Russia, adding: “Together to victory!”

If confirmed, it would suggest a Ukrainian counter-offensive is having increasing success in pushing back Russian forces in the northeast after Western military agencies said Moscow’s offensive in the Donbas region had stalled.

Kharkiv region governor Oleh Sinegubov wrote on the Telegram messaging app that troops of the 227th Battalion had restored a sign on the state border.

“We thank everyone who, risking their lives, liberates Ukraine from Russian invaders,” Sinegubov said.

 Moscow calls its invasion of Ukraine a “special military operation” to rid the country of fascists, an assertion Kyiv and its Western allies say is a baseless pretext for an unprovoked war.