MOSCOW, August 19. /TASS/. The territory of the Kharkov Region controlled by Russian forces has grown by 5 communities over the past week to 33 localities, the head of the civilian-military administration of the Kharkov Region, Vitaliy Ganchev, said on the Soloviev.Live channel on Saturday.

"The frontline is slowly moving towards Kharkov. Our troops are approaching the suburbs of Kupyansk. There have been clashes in Petropavlovka, inside the village itself. Naturally, now it is almost a gray zone in the villages being liberated. We have now expanded the territory by five more settlements over the past week. Now there are 33 of them under the control of the Russian Armed Forces. This is mostly a gray zone. The people there live in very difficult conditions," Ganchev said.

He added that Russian forces were confidently advancing in the area of Kupyansk. The residents of settlements that have not yet been liberated are waiting for the Russian army. Ganchev also noted that due to the failures on the frontline the Ukrainian army started shelling peaceful communities with growing intensity, aiming villages behind the frontline that had not been shelled before.