(Updated:  May 6, 2025 6:22 am)Ukraine's drones target Moscow second night in a row, Russian official claims. Debris from one of the drones reportedly fell on the Kashirskoye Highway The reported attack comes just days before Russia's Victory Day parade and three-day "truce." A Russian drone attack on Odesa Oblast on May 5 killed one and caused damage to local infrastructure "We appreciate that Germany plays a pivotal role in supporting Ukraine throughout the years of war Ukraine is also grateful for your personal commitment," President Volodymyr Zelensky said MPs will be able to ask questions and learn more about the details of the agreement in meetings with Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko May 6-7 MP Serhii Sobolev told the news outlet Suspilne The ratification vote is scheduled for May 8 Attacks against the border villages of Bilopillia and Vorozhba damaged civilian infrastructure and triggered emergency evacuations the regional military administration reported "I look forward to working with President Erdogan on getting the ridiculous war between Russia and Ukraine ended — now!" U.S Putin's Victory Day truce "doesn't sound like much if you know where we started from," Trump told reporters at the White House on May 5 Far-right Euroskeptic candidate George Simion head of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan placed second with 20.99% of the vote and the candidate from the ruling coalition "It requires the continuation of contacts between Moscow and Washington which have been launched and are now ongoing," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said set to operate within the Council of Europe will focus on Russia's political and military leaders up to 20 Russian soldiers were killed and their equipment destroyed by Kateryna Denisova, The Kyiv Independent news deskMen cross a makeshift bridge next to a destroyed road bridge on October 17 (Carl Court/Getty Images)Ukrainian soldiers thwarted Russia's plans to make a breakthrough toward the village of Borova in Kharkiv Oblast a deputy commander of Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade The brigade reported on June 18 that Russian forces were intensifying attacks in the border areas of Luhansk Oblast with the aim of capturing Borova in the neighboring region Russian forces were suffering heavy losses but were replenishing their numbers "The enemy was really planning to make a breakthrough here and advance but failed to capture even a meter of land," Zhorin wrote on social media The Russian advance was stopped by concentrated fire Despite Moscow's troops' attempts to carry out localized assaults their main efforts in the brigade's sector "have been thwarted so far," Zhorin said Russia is carrying out intense attacks in multiple sections of the eastern front, including in Donetsk Oblast, after it captured the city of Avdiivka in February Earlier in July, Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from the Kanal neighborhood of the embattled town of Chasiv Yar in the region Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London He also covers other areas of geopolitics including China Brendan joined Newsweek in 2018 from the International Business Times and well as English You can get in touch with Brendan by emailing b.cole@newsweek.com or follow on him on his X account @brendanmarkcole either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content Russian forces have gathered thousands of troops and hundreds of pieces of equipment in Ukraine's Kharkiv region ahead of a push to recapture a town that Moscow's troops had occupied in 2022 In May, Russia launched an offensive in the northeast of Kharkiv reportedly capturing around a dozen villages by the border although this has since faltered and Ukraine has been launching counterattacks The Ukrainian Telegram channel DeepState said its crowdsourced analysis showed the extent of a Russian buildup between the front-line villages of Raihorodka and Novovodiane "The enemy has built up a striking fist to attack Borova," the post on Wednesday said Borava was occupied by Russian forces during the battle for the Kharkiv city of Izium in the first year of the war before Russian troops fled on 3 October 2022 allowing Ukrainian authorities to regain control "The Russians have amassed up to 10,000 personnel and about 450 weapons including 200 artillery systems," said DeepState "The goal is obvious—an attempt to repeat last year's attack on Borova." DeepState showed a map it said outlined Russia's buildup and described how the defensive line of the front was held by Ukraine's 3rd Assault Brigade but that Russian troops outnumbered Ukrainian forces It also said that Moscow is using additional units and conducting assault operations along the entire offensive line The 3rd Assault Brigade said in a post on Telegram that Russia was using tanks FPV (first-point-view) drones and anti-aircraft missiles to advance describing the front line in Kharkiv Oblast as "one of the most intense areas of the enemy's offensive." DeepState said Russian forces have been looking to probe weaknesses in Ukraine's defenses over the last three weeks and continuous assaults have been helped by up to 400 newly mobilized troops the tactics of meatgrinder assaults have not yielded significant results only because there is a strong brigade in the area," DeepState said in analysis reported by Ukrainska Pravda "But we emphasize that the forces are far from equal." Newsweek has contacted the Russian and Ukrainian defense ministries for comment There has also been an increase in Russian attacks near the town of Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast after fighting in the area the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said on Wednesday that artillery aircraft and unmanned systems had been used to repel five simultaneous attacks by Moscow Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground Newsletters in your inbox See all The Russian army has a tenfold advantage in manpower near the city of Lyman in the Donetsk region and is preparing for a further large-scale offensive in this area, according to a report from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) footage revealed that Russian troops had recently advanced northwest of Novolyubivka (northeast of Lyman) and had likely captured this village Russian forces recently achieved confirmed progress southeast of Novo (west of Novolyubivka) Ukrainian military analyst Kostyantyn Mashovets stated that Russian forces had advanced to the southern outskirts of Katerynivka (northwest of Novolyubivka) the Russian army crossed the Zherebets River to the western (right) bank and slowly expanded its bridgehead on the right bank "Russian forces advanced across the Zherebets River onto the west (right) bank in early January 2025 and have slowly expanded their bridgehead on the right bank over the last three months," noted the Institute for the Study of War The report also highlighted that Russian military bloggers and Mashovets consistently attributed the initial movement to the western bank and the subsequent expansion of the bridgehead to elements of the 144th and 3rd Motorized Rifle Divisions (20th Combined Arms Army of the Moscow Military District) ISW analysts are convinced that Russian forces appear to be utilizing their significant manpower advantage to advance in this area A spokesman for the Ukrainian brigade operating in the Lyman direction stated on March 31 that since January 2025 the Russians have been conducting almost exclusively infantry attacks in this area and rarely using armored vehicles The Institute for the Study of War also stated that they had not observed any video footage of notable Russian mechanized attacks in this area in 2025 The Ukrainian grouping Khortytsia reported on March 31 that Russian forces had intensified infantry attacks in the Lyman direction and had significantly more troops in the area Another Ukrainian brigade operating in the Lyman direction reported on March 24 that on some sections of these areas Russian forces have a tenfold advantage in manpower over the Defense Forces "The Russian military command appears to be reinforcing and replacing manpower losses among frontline units of the 3rd and 144th motorized rifle divisions as these formations have been in the area since at least 2023 and do not appear to have withdrawn for rest and reconstitution at any point," the ISW noted The report also suggested that Russian forces might use their expanded bridgehead northeast of Lyman to support the capture of Borova or Lyman in the coming months The ISW noted that Russian forces initially focused on advancing from Ivanivka towards Kolodiaziv (southwest of Ivanivka) in the general direction of Lyman but recently appear to have reoriented their efforts to advance northwest of Ivanivka towards Novo and Katerynivka in the general direction of Borova One of the Russian military bloggers noted on April 1 that Russian forces are trying to link their bridgehead near Novolyubivka with a smaller bridgehead on the western bank near Makiyivka (about eight kilometers away) The Russians are likely trying to connect these bridgeheads to create a sustainable protrusion to support attacks southeast of Borova the Russians may be creating a bridgehead northeast of Lyman to support future offensive operations against the southern edge of the line from Novosergiyivka - Druzhlyubivka - Novyi Myr (east and southeast of Borova) "The Russian military command may attempt to outflank Ukrainian defenses in these settlements in order to force Ukrainian troops to withdraw and enable Russian advances east of and into Borova in the coming months," the ISW stated The Institute added that the Russians might also try to use the expansion of the bridgehead on the western bank of the Zherebets River near Ivanivka to support future Russian operations to capture Lyman "Further Russian advances towards Borova and Lyman are part of an enduring Russian effort to push Ukrainian forces from positions on the east bank of the Oskil River and attack further into western Kharkiv Oblast and set conditions to attack the Ukrainian fortress belt in Donetsk Oblast from the north," the Institute for the Study of War is convinced the ISW believes that Russian forces may also use their bridgehead northeast of Lyman to capture the remaining one percent of the Luhansk region under Ukrainian control The Institute for the Study of War does not rule out that the Kremlin will likely use the second capture and retention of the Luhansk region to gain leverage during ongoing ceasefire negotiations and future peace talks "ISW continues to assess that Russian officials are intentionally stalling the ceasefire and peace negotiations in hopes of gaining more territory to leverage during future peace negotiations," the report concludes The situation on the frontlines of the Russia- Ukraine war remains complicated with the Russians attacking Ukrainian positions in the Lyman direction 13 times Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the Russian army has lost over 916,000 military personnel. Ukrainian paratroopers dramatically blew up trenches with Russians by Chris YorkUkrainian drone team operators Shrike (L) and Chaynik (R) from the 3rd Assault Brigade watch a drone monitor during a surveillance flight on July 16 (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)Russian troops are intensifying attacks in the border areas of Luhansk Oblast with the aim of capturing the village of Borova in neighboring Kharkiv Oblast Ukraine's 3rd Assault Brigade said on June 18 In a post on Telegram the brigade said Moscow's forces are using tanks and anti-aircraft missiles in an effort to advance and also claimed they had deployed chemical weapons "The front line… in Kharkiv Oblast, bordering Luhansk Oblast is today one of the most intense areas of the enemy's offensive," they wrote "The immediate task of the occupiers is to get to the (villages of) Cherneshchyna (and) Pershotravneve with the subsequent seizure of Borova." According to the crowd-sourced DeepState monitoring service Russia has amassed 10,000 troops as part of a "shock fist" to capture the village Borova had been occupied by Russian forces in March 2022 but was liberated later that year during Ukraine's sweeping counteroffensive in Kharkiv Oblast Both the 3rd Assault Brigade and DeepState reported that Russian forces were currently taking heavy losses but were managing to replenish numbers "The enemy is throwing entire platoons and companies of personnel at the assaults of our positions," the 3rd Assault Brigade wrote "Their rapid liquidation is compensated by the replenishment of manpower in the amount of 250-400 soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation every week." The brigade said it was managing to hold the front line "despite the overwhelming number of the enemy and the lack of reserves." The Kyiv Independent could not verify the reports Chris York is news operations editor at the Kyiv Independent he spent nearly a decade working for HuffPost UK Ukrainian troops are preparing for "any scenario" in the south of the country's Kharkiv region after Ukrainian sources warned Russia is preparing to launch a new push across the border from the eastern Luhansk region Kyiv's fighters are "ready for any scenario and development," Lieutenant Colonel Nazar Voloshyn a spokesperson for Ukraine's Khortytsia grouping of forces in the east of the country said on Tuesday that Russia was accumulating around 10,000 soldiers and 200 artillery systems close to the Kharkiv village of Borova Borova sits west of the Russian-controlled Luhansk city of Svatove south of the Kharkiv settlement of Kupiansk It was swept under Russian control in Moscow's initial invasion push in early 2022 but Ukrainian forces retook Borova as part of Kyiv's counteroffensive in October of that year said on Wednesday that Russia's army was supported by special forces and "private military company units" attempting to "capture Borova." The term "private military company" has typically been shorthand for mercenary forces fighting in the war in Ukraine Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said on Tuesday that Russia was hoping to capture the Kharkiv village of Cherneshchyna and Pershotravneve a settlement north of Cherneshchyna just over the border of the Luhansk region the brigade added in post to messaging app Telegram "The enemy is sending entire platoons and companies of personnel to storm our positions." Russia launched a new cross-border offensive into the north of the Kharkiv region while Ukraine warned Moscow hoped to divide up and overstretch Kyiv's resources and claim gains in the eastern Donetsk region Russia quickly gained a smattering of settlements along two chunks of the border Moscow's pushes focused around the village of Lyptsi—within around 20 miles of the regional capital Kharkiv City—and the border city of Vovchansk Ukraine then reported intensified fighting in Donetsk with Russia making small but steady gains along this section of the hundreds of miles of front line territory But fighting has continued south of Kupiansk including just west of the Luhansk cities of Kreminna and Lysychansk "Ukrainian defenders are trained and motivated they know what they are fighting for," Voloshyn said Ukraine's military leadership "knows everything about the enemy in that area" and will plan accordingly Ukraine's General Staff said in an operational update at 7 p.m local time on Thursday that Russia had dropped six KAB-guided aerial bombs across the border on areas including Vovchansk and Lyptsi Russia's Defense Ministry said on Thursday that it had "continued to advance" in northern Kharkiv targeting Ukrainian forces in several settlements A separate grouping of Russian forces "occupied more advantageous positions" at several points east of Kupiansk and down to the Luhansk border with Donetsk adding it had "repelled" two counterattacks from Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade (Viktor Fridshon/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)Key developments on June 18: Russian troops are intensifying attacks in the border areas of Luhansk Oblast with the aim of capturing the village of Borova in neighboring Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine's 3rd Assault Brigade said on June 18 Borova is located around 35 kilometers (21 miles) south of Kupiansk and just 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of the front line in Luhansk Oblast Ukraine's Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin on June 18 accused Russian forces of beheading a Ukrainian soldier in Donetsk Oblast, saying it was yet another war crime and part of a "planned strategy" by the Kremlin In a post on social media, Kostin said his office had received information that Russian commanders had given orders "not to capture Ukrainian servicemen but instead to kill them with inhuman cruelty - by beheading." His post was accompanied by a blurred picture showing a military vehicle with a severed head on the hood The Kyiv Independent could not verify the photo His office released further information in a post on Telegram saying the gruesome find was discovered during "aerial reconnaissance at one of the combat positions in the Donetsk region." "This is terrible barbarism that has no place in the 21st century," Kostin said "And this is more proof that the war crimes committed by the aggressor are not isolated incidents but a planned strategy of the Russian regime "These criminal orders were given at the level of battalion and company leadership of the occupying forces." Kostin said Ukraine would "not leave these crimes unpunished" and called on the "entire civilized world to isolate and punish the terrorist country." Russia is accused of committing numerous war crimes during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine including the execution of captive Ukrainian soldiers Earlier this month, Ukraine’s Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets appealed to the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to investigate videos showing beatings and threats of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian soldiers reportedly in the Kharkiv direction such treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war is not an exception to the rules but a common tactic for the occupiers," Lubinets wrote Lubinets has previously appealed to the UN and the ICRC to investigate other crimes committed against Ukrainian prisoners of war, including the execution of at least five POWs in Avdiivka in February As of March 2024, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office collected pretrial information on over 128,000 victims of war crimes Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Pyongyang on June 18 for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Putin, making his first visit to North Korea in 24 years, praised the country for backing his full-scale war against Ukraine in an op-ed in North Korean state media ahead of the visit With Russia's military stocks running low and domestic production capacity simultaneously hampered by Western sanctions, North Korea has been shaping up to be Russia's leading weapons supplier his portraits and Russian flags were displayed in the North Korean capital The two countries are expected to sign a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement according to Russia's state-owned news agency TASS Putin claimed that Russia and North Korea would develop unspecified trade and payment systems "that are not controlled by the West" and would jointly oppose sanctions against them which he labeled as "unilateral and illegal restrictive measures." Moscow has reportedly received extensive military packages from Pyongyang, including ballistic missiles and around 5 million artillery shells Both Kyiv and Washington have previously said that Russia has been using North Korean-produced missiles to attack Ukraine In March, Ukrainian prosecutors reported that Russia had fired around 50 such missiles to attack six Ukrainian oblasts during the full-scale war Putin has not visited North Korea since 2000 when he met with previous North Korean leader Kim Jong Il Current North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with Putin in Russia in September 2023 Ukraine may receive long-range Storm Shadow missiles from Italy, Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano reported on June 18, citing its undisclosed sources "A batch of" Storm Shadow missiles and another SAMP/T air defense system will reportedly be included in the ninth aid package for Ukraine which Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto will present to the parliamentary intelligence oversight committee by the end of June Unlike the missiles, the delivery of the SAMP/T system has been publicly confirmed by the Italian government The missiles were requested by Kyiv, the source told the newspaper The number of the missiles to be sent was not disclosed The deliveries of Storm Shadow to Ukraine will make Italy the fourth country supplying Kyiv with long-range missiles Ukraine has repeatedly successfully used these missiles to strike Russian targets on the occupied territories, including Crimea While several countries said they do not oppose Ukraine striking targets inside Russia with Western-provided weapons, Rome has repeatedly said that its arms are for use within Ukraine's borders only. Drones operated by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) hit two oil depots in Russia's Rostov Oblast overnight on June 18, a source in security and defense forces told the Kyiv Independent In recent months, Ukrainian forces have launched a series of drone strikes aimed at damaging Russia's oil industry, the profits of which fuel Moscow's war efforts Russian authorities reported fires at several oil storage tanks in the Russian town of Azov in southwestern Rostov Oblast earlier the same day the drone attack successfully targeted the oil depots Azovska and Azovnaftoprodukt Powerful fires erupted following the reported attacks "The SBU will continue to implement 'drone sanctions' against the Russian oil refining complex and reduce the economic potential of the enemy which provides the aggressor with resources for waging war against Ukraine," the source added and footage of the fire was shared on social media The source said that the blasts could be heard near the town's railway station and near the port where the oil depots are located Overall, the SBU carried out 20 successful attacks against Russian oil industry facilities in various regions, the source said. Other previous strikes have been linked to Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) or the Armed Forces We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent We are here to make sure our readers get quick essential updates about the events in Ukraine Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts Russian forces have reduced the number of mechanized assaults on certain frontline areas. Currently, there are no critical offensives that are difficult to repel, states press officer of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, Oleksandr Borodin in a comment to RBC-Ukraine on YouTube the enemy's offensive actions continue along almost the entire front line the Russian troops have now returned to infantry assaults "They have reduced the use of mechanized units But it's too early to make long-term assessments because they still periodically deploy significant mechanized formations when they deem it necessary — more precisely when they believe they have identified a weak spot the dynamic of attrition remains quite stable I cannot speak about the general situation across the entire front," Borodin explained He noted that in their area of responsibility there were recently two very serious mechanized assaults the Russians have made significant attempts at mechanized assaults but since our front line remains relatively stable they are simply continuing their war of attrition from different directions along the entire line of responsibility there is an enormous number of FPVs — between 200 to 300 per day in our area of responsibility in addition to guided aerial bombs (KABs) striking our logistics," he said we reported that Russian troops have been advancing near Borova in the Kharkiv region and Siversk in the Donetsk region This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page The Russian troops continue their assaults in the Kharkiv region. The enemy aims to gain control over Borova, break through to the Oskil River, and establish a foothold for a further advance towards Kharkiv, according to a Telegram post from the deputy commander of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade the enemy's priority direction in the Kharkiv region is the breakthrough to the Oskil River through Borova in the area of the main strike by the 20th Russian Army that our Third Assault Brigade units are located," said Zhorin the enemy's goal is to gain control over the settlement of Borova and establish a foothold for a further advance towards Kharkiv The enemy is using an immense amount of force and resources due to the reinforcement of the 20th Russian Army with several drone regiments Their task is to support the advance of Russian infantry in this direction "We need to understand that the enemy is actively scaling up their drone units Our unit has encountered such a concentration of drone units for the first time and have FPV drones and Mavics for drops in unlimited quantities," noted Zhorin He mentioned that the Russian forces are trying to target any object within their line of sight and are also setting ambushes on logistics routes we are looking for ways to fight back and have had some successes but the situation in the direction is quite complicated right now," added the deputy commander of the brigade According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine there was one combat clash with Russian invaders in the Liptsi area on the Kharkiv front Defense forces repelled assault actions near Dvorichna and Petropavlivka in the Kupiansk direction where nine enemy attacks occurred during the day the Russian troops attempted to storm the positions of the Defense Forces taking advantage of bad weather to expand their foothold on the left bank of the Oskil River At the beginning of December, the Russian forces tried to seize and hold a foothold on the right bank of the Oskil River in the vicinity of the village of Novomlynsk Let our English speaking specialist guide you to find the best mortgage offer tailored to your specific needs. Free of charge, quick turnaround. Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker and a small pine forest massif separates the settlement from the reservoir One needs to cross a bridge to get there – which turns out to be important for our story Sunday, 8 a.m. Google maps show that our destination is only a 40-50 minutes drive from Kharkiv. Well, it used to be before the war. We supposed that now the journey would take more time, as in the case with Vovchansk, but we did not expect it to be more than four hours. First, we navigate by the map and ask the locals. It turns out that the occupiers have blown up the bridges over the Borova river, but no one knows the fate of the particular crossing, so we decide to check it out. The bridge has been destroyed for a long time. Nearby, we notice a broken car, the wheels of which have already been unscrewed, while the apples are still lying somewhere inside. In front of it, we see a “Ukraine” bicycle and a scooter. First, we suppose it has been abandoned, but later we meet the owner. He shows us the detour route to Borova. The scale of destruction is impressive. The crossing has been blown up on both sides. Trying to plan a detour using the map, we meet an elderly man. He turns out to be a fisherman and his colleagues are sitting on the bank of the river. We talk, and the man tells us about the occupation. He is not from Borova, but his village is nearby and they were also blocked without the opportunity to leave the place. He says it was quiet in their village, but they had loads of Russian propaganda. No one expected the Ukrainian military to liberate them so quickly, adds the man. We wish him good fishing and continue our way. The connection has not yet been restored in this part of Kharkiv Oblast, so our only hope is for offline maps and the residents. Asking several of them we finally discover our further route. The experience is novel, as we have never been to Borova. All our way the road is terrible, but the scenery is incredible: the sown and well-kept fields, and plenty of sunflowers. But the further we drive, the greyer everything becomes. Black withered sunflowers turn away from the road, already fueling a bad mood. We see more and more black fields, destroyed houses, and the remains of machinery. And then we see the first village, although it can hardly be called a village – rather the remains of one. I don’t remember seeing at least one house undamaged. In most cases, the foundation is the only part left of the building. Some of the gates that have remained still have the inscriptions “People” and “Children”. The fact that it has not helped to save the houses feels scary. We proceed forward, thinking aloud: “Imagine, these are thousands of abandoned lives. And these people are lucky if they have survived.” All this time, we keep trying to imagine what life was like here before. How the people used to go to work, children used to hurry to schools and kindergartens, how life used to rage here. And now the kindergarten is destroyed, except for the remaining swing, although we are not sure it is safe. Meanwhile, the road is becoming harder, and the visibility turns poor due to the dust. People, the military, and even more wrecked equipment start appearing on the streets. The machinery is being inspected. And so we end up in the Lyman district of Donetsk Oblast. It turns out that to get to the village we have to go around the entire reservoir, so we cross the border of the Donetsk Oblast. It’s 3 p.m. when we finally arrive in Borova. The outskirts are empty, the flag of Ukraine is already painted on top of the Russian tricolor on every pillar. The factories are destroyed, and the premises are mined. The stalls are painted with curfew warnings written on them. We proceed to the center of the settlement and get to the school. The windows are broken, all the flowers are gathered in a corner, and beds are scattered – the occupiers have probably slept there. Nearby, there is an abandoned room with remnants of Russian food packaging – they’ve left loads of garbage. Opposite is the destroyed postal office with the inscription on the gate in Russian: “No entry”. We can’t pass by the open gate. So we step inside. The first thing we see is the Russian propaganda newspapers scattered all over the place. “Kharkov Z” or “Russia ru” write that “Russia has come to Kharkiv forever” – sounds scary, doesn’t it? And people did believe that Ukraine did not need them, that the Armed Forces would not liberate the region, and if they did, the locals would be tortured. Inside the premises of the post office there is a lot of garbage, broken furniture, and inscriptions “Occupied” or painted “Z” on the doors. Our next stop is the police station. We are going to find out the details about the liberation of the settlement. On the way we meet people and get surprised when the locals greet us, smiling and calm. Finally, we arrive at the police station. The law enforcement officers meet us there. They say there are currently 18,500 people living in their area, and the city is still being wiped out, so it is early to return home now – but of course, it doesn’t stop the locals from returning. The locals have been so intimidated that they are still a bit afraid of the police. But the law enforcement officers are doing their best to help with the humanitarian aid, and as the police station has access to connection anyone can come there to contact their loved ones. While we are talking to the police, many people come to get in touch with their relatives. We managed to talk to some of the locals. A family with two children tells us how the Russians tried to force the kids to go to a Russian school. At the same time, Ukrainian teachers lead the classes online, so the parents were preparing their children for online schooling. People say that invaders could grab someone just on the street. They took crops from the local gardens and occupied the people’s houses. And despite the difficult times, now local people are standing in front of us smiling and waiting for the victory. They are getting used to the new reality and rebuilding their homes. On the morning of April 14, 2022, the Russian invaders entered the villages near Borova. In the evening of the same day, Oleh Sineyhubov, the Head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, reported that Russian troops had entered Borova and the settlement had been blocked. The same month Russians shot the evacuation buses with civilians. Seven people died and another 27 were injured. According to the locals, when the drivers saw the Russian military, they stopped the transport and got out with their hands raised, but they were shot anyway. On Oct. 3, the village of Borova in Izium district was liberated. While the cleanup was still ongoing, the Gwara Media team managed to visit Borova and report from there. Subscribe to news from Kharkiv, UkraineMost important stories from the frontline region Google Facebook Or Register from Google Register from Facebook Or Website materials are permitted only with an active link to “GWARA MEDIA,” not lower than the third paragraph The use of digital platform content is allowed with textual attribution Content for documentary films and integrated products is permitted The site was modernized with the support of the European Endowment for Democracy in 2023 ' + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text + ' " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title + " " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text + " In October 2022, Borova village council informed about the settlement liberation The village located on the left bank of the Oskil river started to recover from the Russian occupation On Oct. 16, almost right after the liberation, the Gwara Media journalists visited the community The numerous remains of what had been happening there could be found in almost every corner of the village our journalists managed to find the premises that the Russian army servicemen used either as a warehouse or as a headquarters Along with the packages of Russian dry rations and garbage we also found abandoned documents of the occupants These papers specifically helped to confirm the participation of another Russian army unit in the Kharkiv Oblast occupation The documents left was the distribution list for February-March (Feb 21-March 31) of fuel and lubricant materials of one of the Russian army divisions It is worth paying attention that the two earliest distribution lists were dated Feb which is several days before the full-scale invasion all the documents contain information about the military unit they belong to which has the full name of the 28th special forces unit of the National Guard of Russia “Ratnik” and is based in Arkhangelsk The unit does not hide its participation in the Russian invasion of the territory of Ukraine. On Aug. 12, Russian media published information about the return of «Ratnik» soldiers after a six-month «business trip» on the territory of Ukraine It is confirmed by the fact that the unit arrived at the border with Ukraine before the full-scale war.  although Russians did not hide the participation of special forces in the attack on Ukraine thanks to the documents found we can talk about the involvement of the unit in the occupation of Kharkiv Oblast in particular Now straight to the names of the servicemen Let’s start with the tanker driver whose last name is indicated as responsible for fuel dispensing Zimbakhtin Fedor’s signature is present on almost every page of the found documents That is why we assumed that other unit members should know this person too and started our identification with him Surprisingly, it turned out to be easy to find Zimbakhtin. The very first search led us to the profile of Fedor Zimbakhtin on the «Odnoklassniki» social network [Russian network service owned by VK Fedor indicated that he lived in Arkhangelsk the public profile contained too little information to make sure that was the same Fedor we were looking for we learned only the place of residence and the date of birth and got a photo of Fedor with a bottle of alcohol in the foreground Nevertheless, thanks to the photo we also found Fedor Zimbakhtin’s profile on another social network a Russian online social media and social networking service based in Saint Petersburg – ed.] Zimbakhtin has been online on the network recently we assume that the serviceman is still alive.  the man was interested in punk-rock culture and shared the corresponding pictures We also found photo collages on the profile and subscriptions to the communities like «Russian Federation contract military service» with the letter Z as a profile picture Moreover, we managed to find a document dated 2019 according to which Zimbakhtin Fedor Mykolaiovych obtained a qualification of a driver who could transport dangerous goods we noticed Mykhailo Selivanov wearing a military uniform in the profile picture there was no such person in our list of people related to fuel and lubricant materials The closest to the last name “Selivanov” was the “Seliverstov” A simple search by the last name “Seliverstov” did not bring any results But when we added Mykhailo Selivanov’s photo to the web query Mykhailo Selivanov is the same person as Mykhailo Seliverstov from the found list On «Odnoklassniki» Seliverstov indicated his birth date And although the user Selivanov did not specify it on «Vkontakte» having publicly congratulated him on his profile page This way we ensured that Mykhailo Selivanov on the social network «Vkontakte» and Mykhailo Seliverstov from «Odnoklassniki» are the very same serviceman from our list.  the serviceman mainly shares information about his hobby In one of the photos we noticed three items of hunting weapons let’s pay attention to the occupant’s political views being proud of how his ancestors fought in World War II It’s interesting that in the serviceman’s mind political jokes almost do not occur on public profiles on his social media Seliverstov’s car becomes the true «star» of his social networks the occupant did not give preference to the domestic automobile industry and bought a car of Japanese production The next identified Russian serviceman from the list is Yevhenii Sobashnikov He also diligently signed the distribution list he should know both Fedor Zimbakhtin and Mykhailo Seliverstov Indeed, after we found Sobashnikov on social networks and saw what he looked like we instantly recognized him in the photos shared by Seliverstov Sobashnikov’s photos in military uniform have been appearing on social media since 2008 none of the units of Russian special forces had a uniform like the one in Sobashnikov’s early photos The special forces officers indeed wore striped long-sleeve under the coat The uniform similar to the one in the photo was used by Russian troops during the invasion of Georgia the type of striped long-sleeve does not prove Sobashnikov’s involvement in the hostilities on the territory of this country The next identified soldier from the distribution list is Ipatov Oleksandr unlike the previously identified servicemen who is incredibly proud of the occupier’s «feats» On Oct. 24, the Russian military man received a certificate of appreciation from the Arkhangelsk Oblast administration, which was reported by his wife on social networks we found out that not only the servicemen themselves were keeping in touch The occupant Sobashnikov’s son turned out to be the friend of Ipatov’s son -— it is evident from their communication on social media The next identified serviceman from the list is Yurii Spiridonov. On his social networks, the man does not hide having friends from the mentioned military unit. In particular, they follow each other with the previously identified person, Selivanov. Spiridonov is fond of fishing and hunting and has weapons and tools for these hobbies. Taking into account the photos of other military servicemen, we see that Russian special forces soldiers do not exist on the edge of financial survival — on the contrary, they get a decent payment for their «work». We found the next special forces soldier mentioned in the documents among Selivanov’s friends. Pay attention, Yevhenii Varhasov is also present in the photo near the monument to fallen special forces soldiers in St. Petersburg from Selivanov’s profile. This again proves that the servicemen knew each other, served in one unit, and probably, performed combat tasks together. Distribution lists found by Gwara Media journalists in Borova, at first glance, seemed to be ordinary papers. But thanks to them, we were able not only to identify six more Russian army servicemen, but prove the participation of an elite unit of special forces of the Russian Guard in the occupation of Kharkiv Oblast. Currently, all the identified Russian servicemen are alive. In the middle of August, the Russian military leadership withdrew this unit from the territory of Ukraine, and several weeks later Ukrainian defenders began the process of liberation of Kharkiv Oblast. We do not know for sure whether or not these things are related. However, taking into account the participation of the «Ratnik» squad in other Russian occupation campaigns, we should assume that such a well-trained resource is important for the aggressor state.  Finally, we provide a screenshot of our correspondence with one of the occupants, whom we managed to contact from a fake VK account. we could confirm the participation of an elite unit of special forces of the National Guard of Russia in the occupation of Kharkiv Oblast we tell you about nine more de-anonymized occupants of this unit In a small warehouse in the very center of the village of Borova, the occupiers left the distribution/delivery records of fuel and lubricant materials of military unit 6832 Thanks to the information, we discovered that the 28th special forces unit “Ratnik,” had been in Ukraine for about six months and had prepared for the invasion since at least Feb The “Ratnik” is an elite unit that participated in almost every invasion campaign of the Russian government after the USSR collapsed We noticed the identified special forces men to have common features: they do not hide their affiliation with the invading army and their friendship with each other.It allowed us to continue the search for the military personnel using the information we had already found Let’s start our identification with Andrii Ozyhin On his page on “Odnoklassniki” [Russian network service owned by VK formerly Mail.ru Group – ed.] in 2009 the occupier actively shared details of his personal life the Odnoklassniki network was no longer attractive to Ozyhin a Russian online social media and social networking service based in Saint Petersburg – ed.] This account shows a photo of older Andrii Ozyhin and his wife we could not see the posts on the personal page we found another Russian serviceman who was in Kharkiv Oblast You can support our work! Join our Patreon to get access to the discussion with our editors Ihor Shelyhin also has Fedor Zimbakhtin and Selieverstov among his friends in VK, who were mentioned in the last part of the investigation His name also appears in the documents we found in Borova Shelyhin does not stand out from other soldiers in any way and selections of communities dedicated to hunting The military man is also an admirer of the “strong Russia” army groups and those that support armed aggression against Ukraine In 2010, Shelyhin shared a photo in a military uniform with the previously identified Zimbakhtin standing next to him means their military experience is more than 10 years it once again proves the close connection between the special forces It is also worth mentioning that Shelyhin involves his children in activities related to military celebrations There are his son and daughter in these photos: when Russia celebrates Airmobile Troops Day.Shelyhin took and published a photo with another identified serviceman Popov is a professional military man who graduated from the Military Academy of Communication of Marshal of the Soviet Union S.M On his page on social media where a chevron with the name “combat unit of the special forces unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs” is visible It should be noted that this chevron is not linked to a specific unit but indicates the connection to special forces Roman Boikov is the next de-anonymized Russian soldier of the 28th special forces “Ratnik” unit. His name can be found in the documents of the occupation army and in the list of friends of other Russian soldiers: Zimbakhtin In addition to information about his education In 2014 he published posts supporting the Russian regime on social media It is worth paying attention to a common feature: such memes also appear on other identified individuals` social media they started following certain directives and rules regarding social media management any kind of political discussion disappeared from Boikov`s page We found the next military invader Yevhenii Kryvopolinov among Boikov’s friends On Kryvopolinov’s page there are also various military-related posts and many thematic community subscriptions Kryvopolinov was proud of his access to special equipment as he took all personal photos exclusively next to cars Let’s move to the next serviceman – Ivan Istomin On his page we see calls to sign petitions against QR codes Istomin published the post supporting the petition on Sept. 26. That is when his unit had already returned to the Russian Federation (we previously proved that the unit left Ukraine on Aug Let’s pay attention to the fact that just in one year, the serviceman`s views changed from a mocking attitude towards the “United Russia” leading party to a total support of Russian external aggression and One can also find photos from Istomin’s family vacation on his page He actively involved his sons in attending the shooting range or visiting museums related to the period of the USSR and the Second World War The next Ratnik soldier can also be found in documents and the other servicemen`s friends lists.  Fefilov graduated from the same university as Boikov Fefilov’s page also demonstrates his offspring`s “patriotic upbringing” is a friend of the previously identified Shelyhin Nieronov is also present in the found documents Like most of his colleagues, Nieronov does not hide his status. He has a thematic profile photo on the Odnoklassniki social media page Occupant Nieronov does not share information on his VK page Another identified Vasyl Dumin shows that the soldiers of the 28th special forces unit “Ratnik” do not hide In his profile picture on social media Dumin is dressed in a military uniform and wears a beret with a Soviet star Thanks to the information found by Gwara Media journalists in Borova we identified 15 soldiers of the elite special forces unit of the National Guard of Russia who were in the territory of Kharkiv Oblast and were supposed to capture it While looking for military personnel of this particular unit we were repeatedly convinced of the close connection of special forces: they hunt together All this confirms that the “Ratnik” unit is not just a group of soldiers but a coherent unit with a common ideology We hope this data will make it possible to bring the Russian military to justice Gwara Media fact-checkers will collect as much Russian military`s personal data as possible to help the investigation if necessary This article was published more than 2 years ago stands outside his destroyed home on Oct 26 He stayed in a bunker for six months during fierce battles under Russian occupation which destroyed every home in the village of Tsupivka The first place Oleksandr Tertyshnyi headed when the Ukrainian army recaptured the village of Borova on Oct By the time he got there, Ukrainian soldiers had already raised a flag and dozens of villagers had started covering Russian signs with blue and yellow paint The U.S. midterm elections are trending nicely – for Vladimir Putin With its future at stake, it’s time for Ukraine to join NATO Borova is among a string of formerly Russian-occupied towns and villages east of the city of Kharkiv that the Ukrainian army swept through during a lightning-fast counteroffensive Ukraine’s troops have managed to push Russian forces out of more than 500 settlements and 12,000 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory as the initial euphoria over the military’s success fades people in villages like Borova are facing a harsh reality: Their destroyed communities now need to be rebuilt They also have to find ways to heal the emotional scars left by five months of occupation and bridge the bitter divide between those who stuck it out and those who fled Borova was once home to 16,000 people who earned their livings mainly by growing sunflowers and other crops A local bread factory provided additional employment Many residents passed the time by fishing in the Oskil River But the occupation – which stretched from April to October – ravaged the village Local residents gathered to receive a humanitarian aid in the settlement of Borova recently retaken by the Ukrainian Armed Forces While Borova was spared the kind of intense shelling that flattened other towns in the area There’s no electricity, and the village’s three bridges have been destroyed, forcing residents to make long journeys to get across the river. Gas lines, water pipes and the village’s central heating system appear to be in decent shape. But without power it’s almost impossible to determine whether anything is fully functional Town officials have been using generators to get water running into homes every two days and there’s a collection point where people can fill up jugs The village sports hall has been turned into a depot for donated clothing and hygiene kits Tertyshnyi said as he sat in a tiny office in the sports hall The Russians scattered mines throughout the surrounding fields and emergency crews have only just begun the painstaking process of tracking them down Last week they found 13 mines at the local power station and six more near the cemetery So far police have found two dead soldiers whose bodies show signs of torture They are among the 735 bodies that have been discovered in mass graves across the Kharkiv region since the counteroffensive began Many of the dead had been shot in their heads or tortured “Every day we are finding more and more people.” As Borova slowly begins to come back to life animosity toward the mayor and others is building Tertyshnyi left for the city of Kharkiv shortly before the Russian army took over and his return has not been welcomed by everyone “He should have stayed,” said Liudmyla Shevelov who never left the small house she and her husband share in the village They refused to co-operate with the Russians who regularly searched their house and took their phones also wouldn’t agree to teach the Russian curriculum “He should have stood up to the Russians,” she said Men cross a makeshift bridge next to a destroyed road bridge on Oct They believe the mayor should have set an example Lykhnytskyi said the town has been divided between those who stayed and those who didn’t “Those who left say we were collaborators,” she said “Those who stayed believe we are patriots.” She added that she wasn’t sure if the two sides would ever come together because the regional governor had ordered him out he would either have been arrested by the Russians or forced to collaborate once electricity and other services are fully restored But the mayor acknowledged that process could take years the war remains all too real for many people in town and military vehicles regularly rumble along the muddy roads a pair of new tanks were being unloaded from trucks outside Borova Liliia Lukomska burst into tears at the thought of what’s going on at the front She came to Borova last week with her husband and her 84-year-old father from Pershotravneve a hamlet just two kilometres from the fighting They’re staying in a house that was offered to them by a friend and they’ve been making harrowing trips back and forth in their tiny Lada to pick up clothes Soldiers tell them when it’s safe to drive into town but even then they have to dodge intermittent shelling “Never could you have told me that we would live through something like this,” Ms Report an editorial error Report a technical issue Editorial code of conduct Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following Paul Waldie is The Globe and Mail’s Europe Correspondent Paul has been a reporter and editor for 30 years, taking on everything from the Bre-X gold fraud to the conviction of Conrad Black, the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Britain's departure from the European Union and the war in Ukraine numerous Wimbledon championships and spent a season with the Winnipeg Jets when the team made its triumphant return to the city in 2011 As editor of The Globe’s Report on Business section Paul managed the largest financial newsroom in Canada and was responsible for expanding the paper’s business and investment coverage in print and online In 2016, he moved to the UK to cover Britain and Europe. Since February 2022, he has been part of the team of Globe reporters covering Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He has been to Ukraine several times since the start of the war and his work on the refugee crisis has won accolades in Canada Paul has been a regular presence on television and radio He was a part-time host on Canada’s Business News Network for years and he's a regular contributor to radio outlets in Canada and the UK He’s won four National Newspaper Awards and been nominated for several other honours He also wrote a best-selling book on the McCain family called A House Divided Paul has also worked at the Vancouver Province the Financial Post and the National Post where he was national editor Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community. This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff. Non-subscribers can read and sort comments but will not be able to engage with them in any way. 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For more information on our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines and our Terms and Conditions On May 6, at 10:20 p.m., the Russian military dropped a KAB gliding bomb on Borova, a village in the Kharkiv region, injuring three people: a man and a woman, 55 and 54, and a 16-year-old girl.  In Blyznkiuky village of Lozova district, an unknown explosive device killed a 55-year-old man.  Russia has attacked the Kharkiv region relentlessly since the beginning of the full-scale invasion because it’s close both to the border and the frontline. Their attacks intensified in December 2023, when Russia started to exploit the lack of air defense systems and missiles for them caused by delays in US military aid to Ukraine.  Russian shelling of Lyptsi damaged a two-story residential apartment building.  In Kozacha Lopan, roofs of private houses and outbuildings caught fire in the wake of Russian attacks. In Cherkaski Tyshky, fire caused by Russian shelling spread on a tractor, two outbuildings, a building of a café, destroyed in previous attacks, and trees near a hit site.   Russian artillery attacks on Vovchansk damaged two private houses.  Syniehubov also reports that 112 children with families or caretakers have been evacuated from the region’s Bohodukhiv, Izium, and Kharkiv districts.  The activation of the occupiers in the Lyman-Kupiansk sector has two main objectives The maximum goal is to fully advance towards the Lyman-Kupiansk direction while the minimum goal is to divert the attention of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions forcing them to redirect forces to the mentioned sector presented in an article by RBK-Ukraine titled "Where Russia breaks through and whether this will disrupt the Ukrainian counteroffensive in Bakhmut: the frontline overview." The occupiers are attempting to advance towards the Oskil River and establish a buffer zone around the Luhansk region which Russia positioned as its war objective in Ukraine along with the occupation of the Donetsk region the enemy wants to reach the Oskil Reservoir The military-political expert from the "Information Resistance" group emphasizes that the Russian offensive on the Lyman-Kupiansk direction was planned as far back as the end of 2022 The maximum program is to reach this direction fully "The minimum program aims to divert the attention of the Ukrainian Defense Forces from the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions and force them to shift resources to this new direction Within the framework of the minimum program they want at least to reach the administrative borders of the Luhansk region," he stated does not exclude that by breaking through to Borova the Russians aim to fix the front line along the left bank of the Oskil to establish a negotiating track with Ukraine taking into account "new realities." They have engaged the elite 4th Kantemirovskaya Guards Division meaning they have committed their best troops "As we have not confirmed the loss of the three settlements The enemy advanced and took them under control but our forces launched a counteroffensive and regained them Since they aimed to reach the front lines and positions they need to consolidate them further," he added The expert also agrees that the Russians are trying to divert Ukraine's forces from Bakhmut Russian offensive on the Lyman-Kupiansk direction The Russian military leadership has concentrated over 100,000 soldiers in the Lyman-Kupiansk direction comparable to the size of the forces involved in the war in Afghanistan As reported by the spokesperson of the Operational Command East of the Armed Forces of Ukraine the Russian military is attempting to seize the initiative on the Lyman-Kupiansk front the Ukrainian Armed Forces could contain the "major offensive" by the Russians Just yesterday, Cherevatyi stated that "the tactical line there (on the Lyman-Kupiansk front) has not changed significantly," refuting Russian propagandists' claims about capturing three villages near Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region The dates displayed for an article provide information on when various publication milestones were reached at the journal that has published the article activities on preceding journals at which the article was previously under consideration are not shown (for instance submission All content on this site: Copyright © 2025 Elsevier B.V. .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Michelle RossmanStaten Island Advance/Nicole BoffaGathered at Wagner College for the Staten Island Technical High School graduation are -- Today's commencement exercises were anything but standard for the 23rd graduating class of Staten Island Technical High School Principal Vincent Maniscalco bowed out early due to a medical emergency after extending congratulations to the graduates and commencement speaker Assemblyman Michael Cusick (D-Mid-Island) was unable to attend because of work But the 282 graduates set to receive diplomas in a ceremony in Wagner College’s Spiro Sports Center didn’t let it get them down they were entertained by the Staten Island Technical High School Symphonic Band performing songs by Coldplay and the Rolling Stones as well as one-hit-wonder Tommy Tutone’s "867-5309/Jenny." Then the band played the graduates in with the traditional "Pomp and Circumstance." who will attend Boston University in the fall led her classmates through a fanciful recollection of their past four years beginning her "story about adventures" with the words "Once upon a time not so far away." She spoke to the many academic linking each feat to the sense of community at Tech "The reason these stories are so good is because we made them together .. We learned a lot more about ourselves than calculus or chemistry," Ms "This part of the fairy tale is at its happy ending Other fairy tales are waiting to be written Imagine a place for yourself in the next story." who blushed and hid her face as her achievements were noted in her introduction the former Stapleton resident then told the students a story of her own "It doesn’t seem like that long ago that I was in your seats," the former Stapleton resident said She recalled times in her younger years when she said she’d been "steamrolled," and urged the students to stand up for themselves and what they believe in "You never want to feel the ache of ‘what if,’" she told them "There’s something to be said about fighting for yourself," Ms Michaelson said and credited the teachers at Tech who "help develop who you are," as instruments of her success.She mentioned experiences at the school as foundations for her perseverance hard work and resulting success in the music business The school administration presented their famous graduate with a plaque of appreciation and a banjo from the alumni association Graduating members of the school’s band joined their fellow musicians in a medley of songs from The Beatles’ "Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band" album following Ms Valedictorian Erin Geraghty called commencement "a day to express gratitude" to all who aided the students in their time at Tech "Today we leave behind the old and start on the new," she said Geraghty acknowledged teachers with a few inside jokes before praising their dedication to the students and observing "Calls for help never went unanswered." The future Villanova University graduate told her classmates they had a suitcase packed with laughter and memories from high school they would always carry with them "As much as we want to hold on to the past we have to make sure our arms are not too full to embrace the future," Ms Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025) © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us) The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Advance Local Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here Ad Choices