Rescue workers help 88-year-old Lyudmila Kalashnik after she was evacuated in Vovsansk, Ukraine on May 12. (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)

As Moscow advances into northeastern Ukraine, Ukrainian officials suggested further advances by Russian forces in the Kharkiv region on Wednesday.

The city of Vovsansk, located about 60 kilometers (or about 37 miles) northeast of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, is seeing the most intense fighting in areas near the border, and Russian forces are already there, he said. in the area.

“The situation in Vovchansk is very difficult. The enemy has taken positions in the streets of Vovchansk,” Oleksii Karkivskyi, head of the Vovchansk Police Department patrol, urged residents to evacuate.

General Serhiy “Marcel” Melnyk, the commander of the Kharkiv city defense forces, suggested that there had been changes in Ukrainian positions in Vovsansk and that a tactical withdrawal might be possible.

“Intensive fighting continues. In some areas, near Vovchansk and Lukiantsi, Ukrainian defenders were forced to use their forces more effectively and move to more favorable positions to protect the region from attack,” Melnyk said on Wednesday.

At least 24 people, including four children, were wounded as a result of Russian shelling in several parts of the Kharkiv region on Wednesday, Melnyk said.

Ukrainian monitoring group DeepstateMap reported on Wednesday that Russian forces had reached the northeastern regions of Vovzansk as they advanced south into the Ukrainian border. Russian forces have taken control of more than nine villages near the border in recent days.

According to Roman Semenuka, deputy head of the Kharkiv regional military administration, forced evacuations continue in all settlements along the northern border. Nearly 8,000 people have been evacuated from these areas since Russia launched its offensive on May 10.