My hometown, Ukraine, Meliafa, eastern Kharkov

Ukrainian military commander warns of “intense fighting” looming in northeastern Kharkiv Oblast

• Ukrainian military commander General Syrsky warned on the 17th that “intense fighting” is looming on the front lines in Kharkiv Oblast, a northeastern region where Russia is invading on the ground.

Russia began a ground invasion of Kharkiv Oblast, which borders the country, on the 10th. Russian President Putin explained on the same day that the invasion of Kharkiv Oblast was in response to Ukraine’s shelling of Belgorod and other Russian border areas, and that the purpose was to create a “buffer zone” for self-defense.

Commander Syrsky revealed that the combat zone has expanded by about 70 kilometers following the Russian military’s invasion of Kharkiv Oblast, saying, “We understand that the fighting will intensify. The Russian military is prepared for it.”

According to local officials, a Russian guided bomb exploded in Kharkiv, the capital of Kharkiv Oblast, on the same day, killing at least two people and wounding 13. The target has not yet been identified. According to Kharkiv Oblast Governor Sinegbov, four of the 13 injured are in critical condition.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on the same day that the Ukrainian military was “stabilizing” the front line, but acknowledged that Russian forces had advanced 10 kilometers into parts of Kharkiv Oblast.

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that it had seized 12 settlements since the start of its ground invasion of Kharkiv Oblast. According to the Ukrainian General Staff, Russian forces are also stepping up their offensive in the eastern Donetsk Oblast.

According to Mr. Shirsky, the Ukrainian military is preparing a defense line in the northern Sumy oblast in preparation for the possibility that the Russian military will also launch an offensive in the oblast. If the Russian military attacks Sumy oblast, a new front line will be formed in the area about 100 km north of Kharkov. My house was also destroyed by a missile attack.