Ukraine says situation worsening in Kharkiv | BBC News

Russia has stepped up its attacks in northeastern Ukraine, raising fears that the city of KV could soon be within range of its artillery. The border town of V Chans has been heavily bombed. Governor Kib has said that Russia is trying to stretch the front line. Ukraine's commander in the Ukraine has said it will need record energy imports after Russian attacks on infrastructure and as Russia advances in the war President Putin is naming a new defense minister, André bov, like his predecessor Sero Shu , who does not have much experience in the military field but is one of Putin's most influential advisors and economic analysts,

says

this may offer a clue about Russian leaders' desire to finance their military ambitions.

Well, we will have more information about the changes. in Russia's defense hierarchy in a moment, but first our correspondent James Waterhouse has the latest on the fighting in Ukraine, the tough region really forms the focus of this ground offensive, the most significant we have seen since the start of this invasion on a large scale. Two years ago now, what Ukrainian forces are saying is that the Russians are deploying significant numbers of troops at two main raid points, across the border, where the invading forces claim to have taken around nine villages and now They claim to be in a town called V Chans, which has been heavily bombed, Kev denies this, saying there is still heavy fighting, some forces say they have killed around 100 invading soldiers today, but there are also double fears, firstly, that the fighting could spread to other settlements like this.

A sort of new tide of Russian occupation is starting to spread, but also, if they were to get within, say, 20 miles of the hard city itself, the second largest city in Ukraine, then that would put them within range of artillery and there it is when defenses really can't do it. anything to protect you and the people who live there, as you know, in countless settlements throughout the East, you know what will happen next, where you have cities that suffer really significant damage and make it even more impossible to live there, which He said that it is not believed that this attack is still capable of taking a city as Russian forces tried and failed with a much larger force two years ago, but nevertheless this is a worrying new point of attack for the already overstretched Ukrainian troops and, James, obviously, we've seen the US vote through this.

Well, I don't think it tips the balance completely in favor of Ukraine in any sense. I think Ukraine would need a simple leveling up. If you want to look at it that way, I mean, right now you know it's not just the story of the last four days with this Russian attack, it's the story of the last six months where you've seen Russia really throw everything at it. trying to take as much Ukrainian territory as possible, especially in the east, but the worrying thing for Kev is the fact that it's happening now in the northeast and there's also a lot of frustration, there are troops there who said, "You know, these Russian soldiers they walked." Across the border, they were hardly questioned and we hardly encountered any kind of Ukrainian forgery.

It's a similar type of criticism that we heard directed at the authorities in the early days of the invasion, so I think the arrival of artillery or long-duration projectiles. Range missiles will simply allow Ukraine to maybe and maybe slow this Russian advance right now they say we are sure we can take back the territory that has finally been taken, but at the moment there is only one. direction of travel and seems quite desperate in some parts of a region that was liberated two years ago, we must remember that James Waterous there in k