Russian forces began renewed ground assault on Ukraine’s northeast regions, killing and injuring several people and forcing more than 1,700 civilians to evacuate from the Kharkiv region on Saturday. “Artillery, mortar, and aerial bombardments hit more than 30 towns and villages, leaving at least three people dead and five injured,” said Kharkiv governor Oleh Syniehubov.

Russian military bloggers said the assault could mark the start of a Russian attempt to carve out a buffer zone that President Vladimir Putin vowed to create earlier this year to halt the frequent Ukrainian attacks on Belgorod and other Russian border regions. As a part of this insurgency, Russian forces have captured five villages and launched a missile strike at Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Luhansk region, setting ablaze an oil depot and killing four people.