Russian forces use border-town captives as ‘human shields,’ Ukrainian officials say

Russian forces have captured dozens of civilians in the border town of Vovchansk, a Ukrainian official has said, with a top regional police officer accusing them of using the captives as “human shields.”

Russian forces have captured dozens of civilians in the border town of Vovchansk, a Ukrainian official has said, with a top regional police officer accusing them of using the captives as “human shields.” Moscow has ramped up its offensive in northern Ukraine. Last week it launched its most surprising operation in two years of war, crossing the northern border in renewed attempts to take Kharkiv, the country’s second most populous city. Vovchansk, in the northern Kharkiv region, has faced an onslaught, with Russian forces claiming to control surrounding villages, forcing civilians to flee. The cross-border attack came in a difficult month for Kyiv and marked another example of what’s going wrong for the Ukrainians this year. Their forces are thinly stretched, with much less artillery than the Russians, grossly inadequate air defenses and above all a lack of soldiers. Their plight has been worsened by dry weather, allowing Russian mechanized units to move more easily. The deputy head of Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, Major-General Vadym Skibitsky, told the Economist last week: “Our problem is very simple: we have no weapons. They always knew April and May would be a difficult time for us.” Several analysts expect the Russians to broaden the border attacks westwards to Sumy region, which has seen months of raids by Russian special forces.