UKRAINE UPDATES — Russia claims 4 more villages in Kharkiv region as Ukraine's military head admits the situation there is 'difficult'

The head of Kyiv's military thanks the mothers of "our Ukrainian defenders" on Mother's Day.

Oleksandr Syrskyi said the armed forces were fighting to return those held prisoner by Russia back to Ukraine. 

The pledge comes as Russia continues to make incremental gains in the eastern part of the country and amid a fresh offensive in Kharkiv in the northeast.

In other Ukraine-related news, the governor of Russia's Belgorod border region reported heavy shelling over the weekend.

Here's a look at the latest developments in Russia's war in Ukraine on Sunday, May 12:

05/12/2024May 12, 2024

Ukraine's military chief highlights difficult situation in Kharkiv

Ukraine's military chief says his country's forces are facing a difficult situation in fighting in the Kharkiv region, but that they are doing their utmost to hold the line.

Russia launched a new offensive from its territory into the northern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv on Friday. The move appears to have reopened a front that had long been dormant at ground level in the 27-month war, with Russia on Saturday saying it had captured five villages.  

"Units of the Defense Forces are fighting fierce defensive battles, the attempts of the Russian invaders to break through our defenses have been stopped," Oleksandr Syrskyi, the Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's armed forces, wrote on the Telegram app.

"The situation is difficult, but the Defense Forces of Ukraine are doing everything to hold defensive lines and positions, inflict damage on the enemy," he added.

Ukraine is presently on the defensive against Russia, which enjoys a significant advantage in terms of munitions and manpower.

Kyiv says several months of delays by the US Congress in voting through a huge package of aid have caused it to lose ground. Ukrainian officials hope significant quantities of the new assistance will arrive quickly to shore up the country's defense effort.

The warmer summer months are the easiest time to try to make gains in a region that frequently faces very cold winters.

05/12/2024May 12, 2024

Russia reports 3 dead in Belgorod building collapse

Russian media has reported that at least three people were killed when a multi-storey apartment block partially collapsed after a Ukrainian missile strike in the Russian city of Belgorod.

Footage posted by Vyacheslav Gladkov, who is governor of the border region, showed at least 10 stories of the building collapsing.

"The city of Belgorod and the Belgorod region were subjected to massive shelling by the armed forces of Ukraine," Gladkov said.

"As the result of a direct hit by a shell into an apartment building, the entire entrance from the tenth to the first floor collapsed."

Russian reports initally said at least three people had been killed with a possible 20 people buried in the rubble of the apartment block.

The Russian Defense Ministry on Sunday said that fragments of a Soviet-era Tochka-U missile (referred to by NATO as a Scarab B missile) launched by Ukraine and downed by Russian air defense systems had damaged an apartment block in Belgorod.

05/12/2024May 12, 2024

Ukraine says thousands evacuated in Kharkiv region

Ukrainian officials say thousands of people have now been relocated from border areas in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, as Russia kept up its bombardment of a key town and small villages as part of a cross-border offensive.

A Russian attack across Ukraine's northeastern border began on Friday, on a front that had been relatively motionless since late in 2022, with Moscow's troops making small advances in an area from where they had been ejected nearly two years ago.

"In total, 4,073 people have been evacuated," Kharkiv Regional Governor Oleg Synegubov wrote on social media, a day after Russia claimed to have captured five villages in the region.

Ukraine says several civilians have been killed in the offensive. The latest, a 63-year-old man, was killed by artillery fire in the village of Glyboke.

A senior police officer from the town Vovchansk helping to coordinate evacuations, said shelling had killed "several people" on Saturday with another found dead in rubble overnight. 

"The city is constantly under fire," he was cited as saying by the AFP news agency. "Everything in the city is being destroyed... You hear constant explosions, artillery, mortars. The enemy is hitting the city with everything they have."

05/12/2024May 12, 2024

Kyiv chief thanks military mothers

Ukraine's military Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi has thanked the mothers of service personnel in a special greeting on Ukrainian Mothers' Day.

Syrskyi offered a "down-to-earth bow to mothers whose sons and daughters are serving in Ukraine's armed forces."

"Thank you for the dignified and noble upbringing of your children who are now serving in the benches of the Defense Forces of Ukraine," he said.

"Thank you for your infinite maternal love, tenderness and sleeplessness in the troubles of the night."

"No matter how old we are, whatever military ranks we have, whatever high positions we hold, whatever dangerous tasks we perform, we remain children to our mothers."

Syrskyi promised mothers whose children were held as Russian prisoners of war that Kyiv's troops were "fighting for every Ukrainian warrior and are trying to do everything to return our brothers and sisters back from Moscow."

"I ask each and every one that can take time out this day and call their mom and congratulate her, thank her for upbringing and her prayers."

"Call and support the mother of the lost brothers and sisters. They need to know we are around," he said.

May 12 is Mother's Day in much of the world this year, including Germany and Ukraine, though its timing varies in several countries. 

05/12/2024May 12, 2024

Belgorod governor says heavy shelling killed one

The governor of Russia's Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine has said a woman was killed and 29 people wounded amid attacks over the weekend. 

Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov also said several hundred flats were damaged after continuous attacks from Ukraine over the weekend.

"The city of Belgorod and Belgorod region were subjected to massive shelling by Ukrainian armed forces," Gladkov said on the Telegram messaging app late without specifying when the shelling happened.

The governor said about 300 flats in 85 apartment buildings and four commercial properties were damaged, with four roofs of apartment buildings receiving direct hits.

He also said two hospitals, a school, and a sports facility were damaged.

Kyiv says it does not target civilians but instead fires at Russia's military, energy, and transport infrastructure in response to Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and civilian areas.

05/12/2024May 12, 2024

Russian threat dominates Lithuania election

Lithuania is voting in the first round of its presidential election after a campaign focusing on security concerns in the Baltic states after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Just over half of Lithuanians believe a Russian attack is possible or even very likely, according to an ELTA/Baltijos Tyrimai poll.

The main candidates agree that the country should increase defense spending to counter a perceived threat from neighboring Russia.

You can read more on that story here.

rc/msh (AFP, AP, Reuters, dpa)