Ukraine Liberates Settlements in Kharkiv Region, Pushing Russian Troops Toward Border

Ukrainian forces have pushed Russian troops back toward the state border in parts of the Kharkiv region, with Moscow’s forces losing two settlements over the past month, said Viktor Trehubov, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Joint Forces Group, according to RBC-Ukraine on May 21.

Trehubov said the situation on the Velykyi Burluk axis had improved and was returning to a format similar to what was seen roughly a year ago.

“The Velykyi Burluk direction has returned to the format it had about a year ago,” Trehubov said.

According to him, Russian forces have been effectively pressed back toward the border in that area after losing control of two settlements.

Near Kupiansk, Russian troops continue trying to apply pressure on the eastern bank and infiltrate north of the city, but those efforts have not produced meaningful results, Trehubov said.

“They are not effective now, they are not reaching the city, but unfortunately, there are still several ‘unfinished’ ones in the city itself, as well as some individuals who managed to get there after infiltrating through a pipe about a month ago,” he said.

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On the Lyman axis, fighting remains active, particularly near Borova, north of Lyman. Trehubov said Russian sources have been heavily exaggerating their reported gains in the area.

“There, the Russians have lied as much as possible about their own successes,” he said.

Russian forces are also continuing pressure near Vovchansk and along the border areas of the Sumy region, but Trehubov said they have lost momentum there as well.

“They are no longer moving forward, but are simply trying to entrench themselves in the border zone where they currently are,” he said.

Earlier, reports emerged that Ukrainian Armed Forces pushed up to three kilometers into Russian defensive lines near Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, where Moscow continues to concentrate major reserves in an effort to break through Ukrainian positions.

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