UKRAINE, KHARKIV REGION, May 16 — Russia hit a village in Vovchansk community during evacuation with cluster munitions, reports the Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov, injuring five people. 

The Russian attack with cluster munitions injured the head of Vovchansk’s military administration, Tamaz Hambarashvili, two medics, and two drivers. 

“Right in the middle of the day, when dozens of people are saving [themselves] from under shelling, volunteers and rescuers are working,” Syniehubov wrote. 

Russia started its new Kharkiv offensive on May 10, advancing into the region from the north and northeast, within areas of Lyptsi and Vovchansk communities. The border settlements of Kharkiv Oblast came under heavy shelling and frequent glide bomb attacks. 

According to the latest data, nearly 9,000 people have been evacuated from Vovchansk and other border settlements in Kharkiv Oblast, aided by police or volunteers, from the area since May 10. 

Ihor Klymenko, Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs, said that Russians are already taking civilian prisoners in Vovchansk and aren’t allowing residents to evacuate. Police report that Russian troops are trying to gain a foothold in the city, kidnap civilians, and force them into basements. 

Klymenko added they have reports about Russian troops murdering civilians in the Vovchansk community. “One of Vovchansk’s residents tried to flee [the city] on his own, refused to obey occupiers’ orders, [and] Russians killed him,” he said.

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