Russian forces launch attack in Kharkiv region | War in Ukraine

This Friday, Russian forces launched a ground attack in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine’s second largest city in the north of the country, having managed to advance one kilometer into Ukrainian territory, according to military sources in Kiev.

The Russian movement opens a new combat front that joins the already extensive front line of around a thousand kilometers in Eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian Army announced a reinforcement of its contingent in the Kharkiv region and said it had repelled Russian attempts to break through the defenses set up by Kiev.

“At this time, the attacks have been repelled, battles of varying intensity continue,” the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said. At least two people died and five were injured following intense Russian shelling in the region, according to Kharkiv authorities.

A military source told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity, that Russian forces had managed to advance one kilometer from the border and that their objective was to establish a ten kilometer “buffer zone”. In the first months after the large-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine managed to recover the territory initially occupied by Russia in this region. The creation of a buffer zone in Kharkiv became an objective publicly formulated by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukrainian authorities have begun to evacuate civilians from the city of Vovchansk, just five kilometers from the border with Russia, and nearby areas because of the increased intensity of Russian shelling, said the head of the local military administration, Tamaz Gambarashvili.

The Russian initiative comes at a time when Ukrainian forces are still waiting for the arrival of US military assistance recently approved by Congress, after half a year of stalemate. The shortage of ammunition has been highlighted as one of the main obstacles faced by Ukraine in being able to stop Russian attacks in Donbass.

Kharkiv has been particularly targeted by Russian bombings in recent times and Ukrainian authorities were already counting on a likely Russian attack on the region during the spring. Russia had reinforced its presence in the border area near Kharkiv in recent weeks, but Ukrainian military analysts do not believe they have a contingent capable of taking a large city.

Kharkiv Governor Oleg Siniehubov assured that the ongoing attack “does not pose a threat to Kharkiv” and that the forces gathered by Russia are only sufficient for some “provocations”.

Moscow’s objective, Ukrainians believe, is to force the Ukrainian Army to move resources and equipment from Donbass to Kharkiv, thus weakening its positions in the East, where Russian forces hope to make real progress in the near future.

Russia has made territorial advances in the province of Donetsk, taking some villages and towns in recent weeks, but the main immediate objective is to reach the city of Chasiv Iar, a few kilometers from Bakhmut, which, as it is at a high altitude, could provide a important advantage for Moscow’s forces to target the territory it lacks to fully occupy the entire province.