UKRAINE, KHARKIV REGION, May 16 — Soldiers of the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade and operators of the 8th Special Forces Regiment of the Special Forces killed four Russian troops who have seized a civilian building and captured two others, reported the Command of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

“The occupant prisoners will be interrogated and later exchanged for our military. We are working calmly, carefully, and efficiently,” said the operators of the Special Operations Forces involved in the defense of the Kharkiv region.

On May 10, Russians launched a new offensive north and northeast of Kharkiv Oblast. National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine’s secretary Oleksandr Lytvynenko said that nearly 30,000 Russian troops are engaged in this operation, with another 20,000 currently stationed at the state border. 

As analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on May 15, the pace of the Russian offensive is slowing down.

The ISW also says that the Russian occupiers have advanced no more than five miles from the border in the northern part of the Kharkiv region and plan to create a “buffer zone” rather than move further into the Oblast.

The Ukrainian military says that Russian forces are trying to achieve tactical success near the towns of Lukiantsi and Vovchansk, but Ukrainian counterattacks, artillery, and drone strikes are preventing them from gaining a foothold in these areas.

As the General Staff reported, Ukrainian troops repelled 24 attacks in the Kharkiv region over the past day: 4 in the Kharkiv direction and 20 in the Kupiansk direction.

Fighting is currently ongoing in the areas of Hlyboke — Lyptsi, Lukiantsi — Slobozhanske, Pylna — Slobozhanske, Murom — Starytsia, Pletenivka — Vovchansk.

UPD from 9:50 p.m.: Mistranslation in the quote fixed.

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  • In the northern part of Vovchansk, Kharkiv region, Russian troops take civilians prisoner and aren’t allowing them to evacuate, reported the Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko.