‘Everything is burning’: Battles rage outside Kharkiv as Ukraine tries to hold back Russian advance

The grip the nation keeps on many of its towns is tenuous, and if Russian forces take Lyptsi, they can position artillery within range of Ukraine’s city of Kharkiv.

There are some towns that Ukraine can just never afford to lose, and Lyptsi is one of them. But the grip the nation keeps is tenuous: The streets are aflame from an airstrike moments earlier when we race in, under the cover of darkness. Night affords them the only respite from drone assault; the hours before we arrive have seen the town hit eight times. Yet the soldiers of the 13th Khartiia National Guard have to endure, as the stakes here are huge. Russia’s relentless onslaught has a key goal: If they take Lyptsi, then they can position artillery within range of Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv, 20 minutes down the road. Down in a bunker, Oleksandr, a commander, looks at one of his many drone feeds. “You saw yourself how everything is burning. It is like that every night.” His men were among the first to tackle Russia’s new advance into Kharkiv region nearly two weeks ago. He says they are fighting trained professional soldiers. “We can see it from their equipment and tactics,” he says. “They’re not sending just anyone into the assaults.”