UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, May 15 — The Regional Prosecutor’s Office investigates the case of a Russian soldier murdering a civilian in the Vovchansk community, Kharkiv Oblast, on May 14.  

According to the investigation, Russian soldiers shot a 46-year-old civilian man point-blank in Startisia village of Vovchansk district.   

The Prosecutor’s Office documented a case of Russian soldiers attacking another civilian man on the same day. He is now missing. Investigators assume this is a case of unlawful detention or murder. The proceedings are registered as violations of laws and customs of war. 

This is not the first case of Russians attacking civilians and murdering since May 10, when their new ground assault on Kharkiv oblast began. 

Serhii Bolvinov, head of the investigations department in Kharkiv National Police, wrote about two volunteers who went out to help evacuate a local Vovchansk family in their own car but didn’t reach their destination. Witness reports and preliminary investigation show Russian soldiers shot them. 

Another civilian from Vovchansk told Gwara Media that Russians knocked on his door after he hid from their bombardment and, without waiting for him to open it, started shooting at the lock. The shooting injured his fingers. 

Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported that up to 8,000 civilians, including nearly 800 children, have been evacuated from the region’s border districts. 

Field report: Threat of reoccupation looms over Vovchansk as Russia launches new offensive on Kharkiv region. Gwara Media joined the evacuation mission on May 11 to talk to people who were leaving Vovchansk in the wake of the Russian assault on the city.  

UPD from 12:53 on May 15: Typo in a title fixed.

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