UKRAINE, KHARKIV REGION, May 17 — A record-breaking air raid alert was documented in the Kharkiv region. It lasted 16 hours and 33 minutes, said Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov during a briefing.

“It was not just an air raid, constant Russian attacks accompanied it,” the official said.

On May 16, Syniehubov said the Russians attacked near the evacuated civilians’ gathering point in the Vovchansk direction. The Russian shelling injured six people: four doctors, one civilian, and the head of the Vovchansk City Military Administration, Tamaz Hambarashvili. One of the doctors went through surgery, he has severe injuries. The other victims of the strike have moderate injuries.

On May 10, Russia launched a new ground offensive north and northeast of the Kharkiv region, in Vovchansk and Lyptsi directions. The border communities came under heavy Russian shelling and air strikes. 

Over the past day, according to the governor, Russians shelled the village of Synelnykove with multiple rocket launchers, killing a 35-year-old resident. They also injured two other men in the village, aged 35 and 33. In addition, the Russian attack damaged private houses.

Russians also injured an 86-year-old man from the village of Krasne, Kharkiv district, on which they dropped a munition from a drone. 

Evacuation is currently underway in the region. According to Oleh Syniehubov, police, volunteers, and rescuers evacuated 8,800 people from the border communities of Kharkiv Oblast. 

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  • On the evening of May 14, Russian troops hit the Shevchenkivskyi district of Kharkiv with three air bombs. They damaged residential buildings, including two floors of a high-rise building, and garages, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said to Gwara Media.