Russia ‘captures villages’ in north-east Ukraine as more than 1,700 people flee

Police evacuate elderly people (Ukrainian Police via AP)

Russian forces have captured five villages as part of a renewed ground assault in Ukraine’s north east, the country’s Defence Ministry said.

Ukrainian journalists reported on Friday that Russian troops had taken the villages of Borysivka, Ohirtseve, Pylna and Strilecha, all of which are in a militarily contested “grey zone” on the border of Ukraine’s Kharkiv region and Russia.