Russian forces attacking Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region reached the outskirts of the border town of Vovchansk, Kyiv's troops said on Sunday, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described heavy fighting there and in the east.
Moscow troops smashed into the Kharkiv region on Friday, opening a northeastern front in the 27-month war that has long been waged in the south and east. Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, is 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Russian border.
Soldiers returning from a combat mission in the area said the fighting had reached the edges of Vovchansk, a town around 4 km from the border and 45 km from the city of Kharkiv, describing helping some troops break out of Russian encirclement.