President Volodymyr Zelensky postponed all foreign travel as the battlefield situation continued to deteriorate and Kyiv said Russian infantry had entered the northeastern border town of Vovchansk in Kharkiv region, writes Reuters.

The capture of the town 5 km from the border would be Russia’s most significant gain since it launched an incursion into the Kharkiv region on Friday, opening a new front and forcing Kyiv to rush in reinforcements.

The assault keeps Ukraine’s stretched and depleted forces off balance ahead of what Zelensky has said could be a big Russian offensive in the coming weeks. Moscow has been slowly making ground in the east for months.

“The situation is extremely difficult. The enemy is taking positions on the streets of the town of Vovchansk”, Oleksiy Kharkivskiy, Vovchansk’s patrol police chief, said on Facebook.

Ukrainian troops pulled back to “more advantageous” positions in two areas of the Kharkiv region, including the Vovchansk area, the military said late on Tuesday. It said the decision was “a consequence of enemy fire and storming action” and taken “to preserve the lives of our servicemen and avoid losses”.

Dmytro Lazutkin, spokesman for the defence ministry, said “some” Russian infantry groups had entered the town, which military analysts reckon Moscow needs to capture to continue its offensive thrust in that direction.

Kyiv’s forces were trying to prevent Russia from building up troops and military hardware in Vovchansk’s north, the military said. The Russians were trying to regroup and dig in and had not taken any more “active” action on Wednesday, it added. Police remained in Vovchansk and were continuing to evacuate people, Kharkivskiy said. Nearly 8,000 people have been evacuated from Vovchansk and border areas since Friday’s assault.