Zelenskyy says Ukraine has taken back control in areas of Kharkiv region, aerial attacks continue

By SAMYA KULLAB and ELISE MORTON
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukrainian forces have secured “combat control” of areas where Russian troops entered Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region earlier this month. Zelenskyy’s comments on Friday evening appeared to be at odds with those made by Russian officials.  Russian state news agency Tass reported that a member of Russia‘s lower house of parliament said that Russian forces now controlled more than half of Vovchansk. The town is about three miles or five kilometers inside the border. Russia’s Kharkiv push appears to be a coordinated new offensive that includes testing Ukrainian defenses in the Donetsk region further south. Local officials said that two people were killed Saturday in an aerial attack on the city of Kharkiv.