Ukrainian forces ‘halt Russian advance in north-eastern town’

An apartment building damaged in a Russian missile attack in Kharkiv (Andrii Marienko/AP)

Ukrainian units locked in street battles with the Kremlin’s forces in a key north-eastern town have halted the Russian advance, military officials in Kyiv said.

Russian attempts to establish a foothold in the town of Vovchansk, which is among the largest towns in the north-eastern Kharkiv region with a pre-war population of 17,000, “have been foiled”, Ukraine’s general staff said in a midday report.