Heavy shelling as troops fight to retake Kharkiv.

Intense battle continues in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region as troops strive to retake control of the territory from Russian forces.

It comes after Ukrainian armed forces announced on Saturday that they had taken control of five villages north of the country’s second largest metropolis.

According to analysts, the Ukrainian operation is turning into a successful counter-offensive.

Since the February invasion, Kharkiv has been the target of heavy shelling.

Russian military continue to “fire on residents in Kharkiv region,” according to the governor of Kharkiv region.

On Telegram, Oleh Synyehubov warned people not to “go out unnecessarily” and not to ignore air raid sirens.

Russian bombardment is expected to increase in the run-up to Victory Day on May 9, when Russia marks its 1945 victory over Nazi Germany.

Since the invasion, Russian forces have targeted the region aggressively, but according to a report from the Institute of the Study of War, Ukrainian troops are already “significantly retaking terrain over a large arc around Kharkiv.”

Ukrainian troops may be able to alleviate Russian pressure on Kharkiv “and perhaps threaten to make further advances to the Russian border,” according to the report.

People are still hiding in shelters and not going to work, according to Hubanov Pavlo, a children’s doctor in Kharkiv. He stated, “There is no normal existence in the city.”