Thousands evacuated in path of renewed Russian ground offensive

Russian emergency services work at the scene of a partially collapsed block of flats authorities said was hit during an attack by Ukrainian shelling, in Belgorod, Russia (Belgorod region governor/AP)

Thousands more civilians have fled Russia’s renewed ground offensive in Ukraine’s north-east that has targeted towns and villages with a barrage of artillery and mortar fire, officials have said.

The intense battles have forced at least one Ukrainian unit to withdraw in the Kharkiv region, capitulating more land to Russian forces across less defended settlements in the so-called contested “grey zone” along the Russian border.