Urban combat was ongoing in the northern outskirts of the town, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said."According to their reports, the military is ready to repel (the attack), it is fighting hard. But there are quite a lot of Russians," Lytvynenko said.In total, Russia deployed around 50,000 soldiers on the border with Kharkiv Oblast before its offensive, he said.There is currently no threat of an assault on the city of Kharkiv, Lytvynenko added, echoing earlier statements of the local authorities.Russian forces failed to take Kharkiv in the first weeks of the full-scale invasion despite the fact that the city lies less than 30 kilometers from the Russian border.Russia "would need years" to occupy Kharkiv, Oleksandr Pivnenko, the commander of Ukraine's National Guard, said amid the looming threat of renewed attack.Russia’s new Kharkiv offensive pushes Vovchansk to the brink of annihilationVOVCHANSK, KHARKIV OBLAST – The glide bombs arrive in groups of three.