Ukraine updates: Russia keeps up pressure near Kharkiv
Published May 19, 2024last updated May 19, 2024What you need to know
Russia has reported that over a hundred drones and 12 US-made missiles were shot down over its territory overnight into Sunday, while Ukraine in turn says it destroyed over 30 Russian drones.
The barrage of mutual aerial attacks comes as Russia presses on with a renewed offensive in the Kharkiv region.
Here are the latest updates from Russia's war in Ukraine on May 19:
Ukrainian shells injure 13 people in Russia's Belgorod, regional governor says
The Ukrainian military shelled areas of Russia's southern Belgorod region, injuring at least 13 people, Regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Sunday.
Writing on Telegram, Gladkov said multiple-launch rockets hit the town of Shebekino, injuring 11 people, including three children. Seven apartment buildings sustained damage in the attack.
In the nearby village of Rzhevka, two people were wounded in shelling by the Ukrainian military, according to Gladkov. He said at least one building was badly damaged.
In a post on Telegram, Russia's Defense Ministry said air defense units had downed one rocket and three drones over the Belgorod Region.
Russian strikes on Kharkiv region kill at least 11
Local officials reported that at least 11 people were killed in two attacks in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region.
According to the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office, six people were killed and 27 wounded in a Russian strike on a busy lakeside resort on the outskirts of the regional capital, also called Kharkiv.
Rescuers said the initial strike was followed by a second strike around 20 minutes later, targeting emergency crews at the scene in a so-called "double tap."
Meanwhile, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said that five more people were killed and nine wounded in an attack on the region's Kupiansk district, southeast of the regional capital.
The missile strikes were the latest in what have been regular Russian attacks in recent weeks on the Kharkiv region, where Russian troops have launched an offensive.
Ukraine says Russian minesweeper destroyed
The Ukrainian navy has said that Ukrainian forces have sunk a minesweeper from Russia's Crimea-based Black Sea Fleet, adding to the growing list of Russian vessels destroyed during Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
"Last night the Ukrainian Defence Forces destroyed the Russian Black Sea Fleet's Project 266-M Kovrovets minesweeper," the navy said on the Telegram messaging app.
Kyiv says it has destroyed a third of Russia's vessels in the Black Sea since Moscow launched its offensive over two years ago.
Moscow officials have tended to remain silent about most of Ukraine's claims in this regard, but losses of sometimes key Russian vessels have been confirmed by Russian military bloggers and media.
Ukraine, Russia trade aerial attacks
Ukraine attacked Russian regions with over 100 drones and 12 ATACMS missiles overnight to Sunday, Russian officials said, with the Defense Ministry claiming all were shot down.
Some drones were flying over the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, with others reported over the southwestern Krasnodar region, the ministry said.
It said twelve US-made ATACMS missiles were downed over Russian-annexed Crimea.
Officials in Slyvyansk in the Krasnodar region said six drones crashed near an oil refinery there, with Russia's Interfax news agency saying work was halted at the facility.
Russia has reported a rise in Ukrainian attacks on its territory since its forces opened a new front in northeastern Ukraine's Kharkiv region earlier this month.
In Ukraine, air force officials said the country's air defense had shot down all of the 37 Russian drones sent to attack overnight.
Russian strike on Kharkiv kills at least 4, officials say
At least four people were killed in an attack on the outskirts of Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv on Sunday as Russia pushed ahead with its renewed offensive in the northeast of its neighbor.
"We know about four civilians killed. At least eight people are wounded," the regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov, said.
The shelling struck in a busy lakeside restaurant area in the northeast of the city.
"The occupiers attacked the area where local residents were relaxing," he said on the Telegram messaging app.
Russia launched an assault in the border region of Kharkiv on May 10, having first stepped up its aerial attacks.