INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A major television tower was toppled in Ukraine's war-battered city of Kharkiv on Monday after bombardments from Russia forces, as the
country's head of military intelligence warned the situation on the front lines would likely deteriorate in coming weeks.An AFP journalist
in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, saw the red-and-white spire of the 240-meter structure toppled after local officials reported a
barrage by Russian forces.Images circulating social media showed plumes of gray smoke billowing around the large antenna and its upper half
careening to the ground following an apparent strike."The occupiers attacked a television infrastructure facility in Kharkiv," the region's
governor Oleh Syniehubov announced on social media."The employees were in hiding during the alarm
There were no casualties," he added, but television broadcasting had been disrupted.The tower was last hit in the early days of the
invasion, when Russian ground forces nearly captured the city, and Ukrainian officials have warned that Moscow is likely to push hard to
gain more ground, likely including near Kharkiv, in the coming weeks.Kharkiv has been shelled persistently since and the TV tower was struck
in March 2022.The apparent attack came hours after the head of Ukraine's military intelligence said the situation was worsening at the
front, and Russia announced the capture of Novomykhailivka, a village around 20 kilometers away from Vuhledar, which Russian forces have
been trying to capture.'Difficult situation'Moscow's forces have steadily been gaining ground in the Donetsk region, which the Kremlin has
claimed as part of Russia.The claim of Novomykhailivka's capture from the Russian Defense Ministry came just after the head of Ukrainian
military intelligence warned that fighting for his country's forces in the east would likely get much harder in the coming weeks.Outgunned
and outmanned Ukrainian forces have for months struggled to hold back Russian troops, who are expected to soon step up their offensive."In
our opinion, a rather difficult situation awaits us in the near future," said Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian military
intelligence."But there will be problems starting from mid-May
I am talking about the front in particular," he said in an interview with the BBC's Ukrainian service.But he added that while the situation
would probably worsen for Ukrainian forces, the fighting would not become "catastrophic.""Armageddon will not happen," he said.'Rethink
but the situation is expected to improve in the coming weeks, with the United States House of Representatives approving Saturday a $61
billion package of military aid after months of deadlock.A senior aide to the Ukrainian leader, Mykhailo Podolyak, said that the U.S
package had given the war-exhausted country a morale boost and that he hoped the support would soon bring results on the front."New supplies
of ammunition and equipment will enable the Armed Forces to repel the Russian offensive, and give our allies time to rethink their
strategy," he said on social media.Ukrainian officials in eastern and southern Ukraine said Monday that Russian attacks had wounded several
people.In the southern city of Kherson, officials said Russian shelling wounded two people while the interior ministry said a man was
wounded in Selydove, a town in the Donetsk region.Russia had announced that it made gains towards the town of Chasiv Yar, a key battleground
now, also in the Donetsk region.Taking control of Chasiv Yar's strategic heights would open the road for Russia to other important towns in
the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
