Ukraine war latest: Russia using 'understaffed and incohesive forces' in bid to draw out Ukrainian troops

A longstanding point of contention since the war in Ukraine started has surrounded the issue of how the country should be permitted to use the weapons it receives from its Western supporters.

Mindful of the risks of an escalation that could draw NATO into a wider conflict, the major donors to Ukraine such as the US and UK have so far insisted that their weapons are not used to launch strikes into Russian territory.

While there has been a degree of broad contention around this policy, a minister from one European country is now suggesting it should be abandoned if Kyiv is to be given the best chance of defeating its invading forces.

Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said restrictions such as those imposed by the US on using long-range ATACMS missiles inside Russia were a "mistake."

"From the beginning, we have made the mistake of limiting the Ukrainians because it could be seen as an escalation," he said in an interview with French TV station LCI.

Ukrainian officials are reportedly trying to convince Washington to lift the ban - and Mr Landsbergis said such decisions were "dominated by fear of Russia".

"The Ukrainians must be allowed to use the equipment provided to them so that they can achieve strategic objectives," he said.

"They must be able to strike Russian territory, supply lines, and military units preparing to attack Ukraine.

"Only one side has rules imposed on it. We must abandon these rules that we created."

Some of the latest images from Reuters in Ukraine show Ukrainian servicemen patrolling an area heavily damaged by Russian military strikes, in the city of Orikhiv, in Zaporizhzhia region.

We reported last week on the Russian deployment of resources near the border city of Sumy. 

It was suggested by observers at the time that the move was an effort to draw Ukrainian forces away from other areas  - in particular from the Kharkiv region, around 115 miles south along the border.

Sources cited by the Institute for the Study of War thinktank supported this theory, saying Russia was concentrating "limited, understaffed, and incohesive forces" in the Sumy direction, but added that "even such a Russian grouping of forces will be able to achieve the likely desired effect of drawing and fixing Ukrainian forces in the international border area".

It said the the deputy commander of a Ukrainian brigade operating in northern Kharkiv Oblast reported Russia's military, including Chechen forces, was "accumulating in the Sumy direction but that the limited number of Russian personnel suggests that the Russian objective is to draw and fix Ukrainian forces to the international border area".

Ukrainian military observer Kostyantyn Mashovets, the group reported, stated that the Russian grouping in Kursk Oblast consisted of 9,000–10,000 personnel, comprising up to "three under-strength motorised rifle regiments (each lacking one to two battalions); eight motorized rifle, tank, and infantry battalions; and one airborne (VDV) battalion all redeployed from various units, formations, and military districts; and at least two assault detachments at the echelon of a reinforced company or an under-strength battalion".

Ukrainian forces shot down 28 out of 29 drones used by Russian forces in an overnight attack on seven regions, Ukraine's air force said in a statement this morning.

Statements from Kharkiv governor Oleh Syniehubov and the Ukrainian internal affairs ministry said the drone attack damaged four private residences and 25 trucks and buses in the region, injuring five people.

A missile attack later in the morning targeted transport infrastructure and injured two more people in the city, the governor added.

Two drones shot down in Dnipropetrovsk region damaged outbuildings, with no casualties reported by the region's governor.

Three Shahed-type drones were shot down over the Kherson region, with 14 more shot down over the Odesa region, according to the Ukrainian military.

The rest of the drones targeted the Mykolaiv, Cherkasy and Kirovohrad regions.

The information could not be immediately verified.

Russia has stepped up drone and missile attacks around Ukraine this spring, causing significant damage to its energy infrastructure.

One person was killed and three wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack on the village of Oktyabrsky in Russia's Belgorod region, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov has said.

We'll bring you more detail on this as we get it.

Welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. 

Yesterday, conflicting reports emerged from Bilohorivka, with Russia claiming to have taken full control of the eastern Ukrainian village and Kyiv claiming it was "holding back" Moscow's troops. 

In Vovchansk, Ukrainian officials said troops were still in control of around 60% of the city, and house-to-house fighting had been taking place. 

It marked the most detailed public assessment of the battle in the northeastern city to date. 

Capturing Vovchansk would be Moscow's most significant gain since it opened a new front in the northern part of Kharkiv region earlier this month. 

We'll be bringing you the latest updates throughout the day, but here's a quick reminder of the other key events from the last 24 hours: 

• The UK and Finland announced they would sign a new partnership agreement vowing continued support for Ukraine and declaring Russia the most significant and direct threat to European peace;
  
• A Russian court opened the trial of theatre director Zhenya Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk, accused of advocating terrorism in a play;
• US defence secretary Lloyd Austin committed to keep supplying US weapons to Ukraine; 
• Vladimir Putin appointed former deputy economy minister Oleg Savelyev as a deputy defence minister;
  
• The head of Ukraine's Russia-annexed Luhansk region said Ukrainian shelling had damaged a fuel depot and triggered a fire in the town of Dovzhansk. 

This week kicks off with all eyes on northeastern Ukraine, after Russia opened a second front when it invaded across the border from the Belgorod region into the Kharkiv region.

Our coverage remains paused today, but you can find an overview of the war as it stands below.

Second front

Russian forces have advanced between five and 10km into the Kharkiv region, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Moscow is prioritising the seizure of Vovchansk -the largest settlement near the border - said the Institute of the Study of War, which could provide Russian forces with a staging ground to launch a second phase of the offensive.

The objectives of this phase are unclear, but Russian officials have previously identified Lyptsi as a target.

Vladimir Putin has claimed capturing the city of Kharkiv is not part of the plan, but a former Ukrainian president said he cannot be trusted.

The offensive has been deadly for civilians - with 10 people killed in Russian strikes on Sunday, local governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

Russian forces have also captured 40 civilians from a town in Kharkiv, the head of the investigative department of the Kharkiv regional police, Serhii Bolvinov, said.

Meanwhile, anti-Putin Russian paramilitary soldiers have joined Ukrainian troops to defend the new frontier.

Crimea

The Black Sea and the occupied Crimean peninsula remain targets for Ukrainian forces.

They attacked Belbek airfield on Tuesday, destroying elements of an air defence missile battery, including a radar system and launchers. 

This comes after three successful attacks between 16 April and 12 May, the UK defence ministry said.

Ukrainian Defence Forces also destroyed a Black Sea fleet minesweeper, the Ukrainian navy said.

Elsewhere on the frontline

Ukrainian troops reported the war was entering a critical phase and they remain desperate for ammunition.

Colonel Pavlo Palisa, fighting near Chasiv Yar, said Russia was preparing for a major push to break Ukrainian lines in the east.

Ukrainian gun commander Oleksandr Kozachenko said his unit's US-supplied howitzer, which once hurled 100 shells a day, is now reduced to fewer than 10.

Beyond the battlefield

• Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected the French president's call for a truce between Russia and Ukraine during the Paris Olympics, saying it could give Russia the upper hand.
• Poland said it would invest £2bn to make its eastern border "impossible to pass for a potential enemy", prime minister Donald Tusk said.
• Russia's ambassador to the UK said the UK was a de facto participant in the war. Moscow said it saw the US and UK as responsible for recent attacks on Russian soil because they were allowing Ukraine to use Western weapons against targets there.

Putin in China

The Russian president was in Beijing last week, meeting leader Xi Jinping.

They agreed to expand military drills, warned against the risk of nuclear conflict and talked up the idea of weakening the West.

The pair signed an agreement for "new era" strategic cooperation, criticising the US and marking support for Russia's "sovereignty and territorial integrity".

We're pausing our coverage of the Ukraine war for the moment.

Scroll through the blog below to catch up on today's developments.

Russian forces likely intend to launch the second phase of their offensive following their anticipated seizure of Vovchansk, three miles from the Russian border, according to the latest analysis from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday that Russian forces advanced between five and 10 kilometres in the northern Kharkiv region before Ukrainian forces stopped Russian advances.

The ISW says Russian forces are currently prioritising the seizure of Vovchansk because it is likely one of the remaining tactical objectives of the first phase, noting it is the largest settlement immediately on the border that would provide Russian forces with a staging ground to prepare for and launch the second phase.

The Russian objectives of the second phase are not yet clear, the ISW says. It could be to expand the "buffer zone" further in width along the border, or to advance closer to Kharkiv city.

Russian forces have also recently intensified efforts to seize the operationally significant town of Chasiv Yar, the ISW says, seeking to exploit the pressure on stretched Ukrainian forces. 

The number of people killed in Russian strikes on a Kharkiv recreation area has risen from five to six, with an employee of the resort still unaccounted for. 

At least 27 people were injured in the two airstrikes, which came about 20 minutes apart, according to an update from the Kharkiv regional prosecutor's office on Telegram. 

The missing employee was fishing by a reservoir when the attack happened, the update said. 

Two police officers are among the injured, it added.