Ukrainian volunteers assit residents of settlements in the north of the Kharkiv region during their evacuation on May 10, 2024, amid the Russian invassion in Ukraine. Russia said on Saturday that its forces had taken five border villages in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, where Russia launched an offensive on Friday, exploiting its increasing advantage on the battlefields of eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian officials said on Friday that Russia had launched a new cross-border offensive against the Kharkiv region, which is centered around Kharkiv City, Ukraine's second-largest. On Saturday, Russia kept up its attacks in the Kharkiv region and was trying to advance further, Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. Russian forces first attacked Kharkiv region in Feb. 2022, but were routed from most of the province by a lightning Ukrainian counter-offensive in September of that year.

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Persons: Oleh Syniehubov, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Defence Ministry Locations: Kharkiv, Ukraine, Russia, Ukraine's Kharkiv, Pletenivka, Russian, Keramik, Donetsk, Moscow, Ukrainian, Avdiivka, Kharkiv City, Ukraine's, Russia's, Belgorod