Ukraine war latest: Russian forces take control of village in Kharkiv region - defence ministry

Russia has claimed to have captured a "very valuable" British-made vehicle from the battlefield. 

In a post on Telegram, the defence ministry said the FV104 Samaritan evacuation vehicle has been taken but needs to be repaired. 

It claimed it was big enough to evacuate four people and carry a crew of two. 

It said it was "very valuable" and could be used as a "rare collection exhibit". 

It shared a video of the vehicle but Sky News has not been able to verify if it is a FV104 Samaritan. 

Five people have been injured in a Russian shelling attack in Kharkiv, the Ukrainian national police has said. 

A 13-year-old girl and 16-year-old boy are among those hurt, it said. 

The Russian military attacked the city at around 30pm, it added, with several hits recorded on residential buildings. 

"As a result of shelling, five civilians were injured, and civilian infrastructure was also damaged," police official Oleksandr Kobylev said. 

"Currently, two minor children are known to have suffered minor injuries. Necessary medical assistance is provided to all victims." 

A Russian attack plane has been shot down, a Ukrainian army brigade has reported. 

The 110th separate brigade said the Su-25 had been destroyed in Donetsk. 

It said it was the fourth Su-25 to have been shot down, adding it will keep issuing "flaming fines" to Russia for crossing into Ukraine. 

"Our sky will become hell for the occupant pilots. Our squad number will be a nightmare for them," it added. 

A Ukrainian sergeant has been stabbed in the hand by a civilian, the country's ground forces has said. 

In a statement posted on Facebook, the army said the attacker was detained and has been charged with attempted murder and obstructing the armed forces. 

The attack took place in the city of Sinelnikove, in the central Dnipro region, earlier today.

"A civilian committed an armed assault with cold weapons (knife) on the sergeant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the statement said. 

The sergeant, who worked for the territorial recruitment and social support centre, has been provided with "all the necessary medical care", it added. 

In Ukraine's second largest city, airstrikes have become a daily occurrence as intense battles continue. 

Russian troops have been pushing ahead with a ground offensive that opened a new front in northeastern Kharkiv region in recent days, putting further pressure on Kyiv's overstretched military. 

After weeks of probing, Moscow launched the new push knowing that Ukraine suffered personnel shortages, and that its forces have been spread thin in the northeast.

Two people were killed after Russian airstrikes hit Kharkiv on Friday as Ukrainian troops fought to halt Russian advances in the region.

The airstrikes targeted Ukraine's second-largest city during the daytime, injuring 25 people and killing two, according to Kharkiv's mayor Ihor Terkhov.

On Thursday, the air alarm sounded for more than 16 hours, a record since the beginning of the military campaign by Russia.

Here are some of the latest pictures from the city: 

Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian power facilities in early 2024 disrupted 14% of Russia's oil refining capacity, according to the US Department of Defence.

The strikes pushed up domestic oil prices by 20-30% and forced Russia to halt exports to focus on meeting domestic demand, a report from the Pentagon’s intelligence agency said.

But it caused only a "negligible disruption" to the electricity supply for Russian civilians and the military, because of Russia's "robust generation capacity" and the level of power in the grid. 

The General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces have published their daily operational update... 

Speaking about the frontline, it says the situation "remains tense" and Russia is using its advantage in the number of personnel to launch attacks on Ukrainian positions. 

In the last 24 hours, 66 "combat clashes" have taken place, it adds. 

Russian troops have been pushing ahead with a ground offensive in recent days that opened a new front in northeastern Ukraine's Kharkiv region and put further pressure on Kyiv's overstretched military. 

The update says Russian forces have attacked in the areas of Lyptsi in Kharkiv today, and fighting is continuing in the town of Vovchansk. 

"Currently, the number of combat encounters in this direction has reached 10, while the Russian occupiers tried to improve the tactical position eight times, our units in turn - twice," it says. 

Earlier today, Russia's defence ministry claimed its forces had captured the village of Starytsia in Ukraine's Kharkiv region. 

Russian troops are continuing to advance in the area, it added. 

Ukraine did not mention the village in its operational update. 

Two people were killed when their car was hit by Russian forces as they evacuated Vovchansk, according to Ukrainian officials. 

The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office said an investigation has been launched into what it called the "war crime".

It said the car carrying civilians came under enemy fire while driving through the border town on Thursday. 

The 70-year-old driver and an 83-year-old female passenger died at the scene, while two other passengers were injured, officials said. 

Ukrainian authorities have evacuated around 8,000 civilians from Vovchansk, three miles from the Russian border.

Russian forces have captured 40 civilians from a town in Kharkiv, a Ukrainian official has said. 

Speaking to Ukrainian news outlet Suspilne, the head of the investigative department of the Kharkiv regional police Serhii Bolvinov said they were taken while trying to escape a Russian shelling attack. 

"People are kept in basements, interrogated, and those conducting the interrogations call themselves FSB employees," he said.

It comes after Ukraine's interior minister Ihor Klymenko said Russian forces were taking civilians captive on Thursday. 

He also claimed the Russian military had carried out executions. 

"In the northern part of Vovchansk, where active hostilities are taking place, the Russian military is taking civilians captive," he said on Telegram. 

"It is known about the first executions of civilians by the Russian military. In particular, one of the inhabitants of Vovchansk tried to escape on foot, refused to obey the commands of the invaders - the Russians killed him." 

Vovchansk, in the northern Kharkiv region, has come under several attacks in recent weeks, with Russian forces claiming to control surrounding villages and forcing civilians to evacuate. 

Ukrainian forces on the frontline say the war is entering a critical phase - and they are desperate for more ammunition as they struggle to hold off relentless Russian attacks. 

Colonel Pavlo Palisa, whose 93rd Mechanised Brigade is fighting near the key strategic city of Chasiv Yar, said he believed Russia was preparing a major push to break Ukrainian lines in the east.

"Without a doubt, this will be a difficult period for the armed forces," he said. 

"I would say that it is unlikely that time is on our side, since a long war requires more resources," he said, adding that it would be critical to impose as heavy a cost on Russia as quickly as possible.

"The enemy's resources, whether in terms of manpower or the material, cannot be compared with ours. It's extraordinarily large." 

Ukrainian gun commander Oleksandr Kozachenko said his unit's US-supplied M777 howitzer, which once hurled 100 shells a day at the enemy, is now often reduced to fewer than 10. 

"It's a luxury if we can fire 30 shells." 

Gunners with his brigade in the Donetsk region said they were desperate for more 155mm rounds for their Western cannons, which had given them an edge over Russia earlier in the war.

The United States says it's rushing ammunition and weapons to Ukraine following the delayed approval of a $61bn aid package by Congress last month. 

For the soldiers facing down an encroaching enemy, the deliveries can't come soon enough.