Russian invasion
Russian offensive: situation in Kharkiv “significantly worsened”
Colonel General Olexander Syrskyj: “The situation is difficult.” photo
© Ukrainian Presidential Office/Zuma Press/dpa
A few days ago, Russia launched a new offensive on the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine. According to the military leadership in Kiev, the situation there is serious. Thousands of people have already been evacuated.
After Russian troops advanced into the Ukrainian border area Kharkiv, Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Olexander Syrskyj described the situation there as difficult. The Defense Ministry in Moscow reported the occupation of four more villages. Meanwhile, the Russian border region of Belgorod, which borders Kharkiv, also reported heavy shelling, for which it blamed Ukraine.
Syrskyj: “The situation in the Kharkiv region has worsened significantly”
“This week the situation in the Kharkiv region has worsened significantly,” Syrskyj wrote on Telegram. “Fighting is currently continuing in the border areas along the state border with the Russian Federation.” He then added: “The situation is difficult, but the Defense Forces of Ukraine are doing everything to hold defensive lines and positions.” At the same time, he admitted that the Russian attackers had achieved “partial success” in some areas.
In view of the dangerous situation, around 4,000 people in Kharkiv have had to leave their homes and be taken to safer places in the past few days, as Governor Oleh Synjehubov wrote. Many of them could stay with friends and relatives, while accommodation would be provided for others.
ISW: Russian offensive aims to push Ukrainians away from the border
According to consistent reports, Russian troops launched an offensive in the border area to the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Friday night. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, several Ukrainian border villages near the city of Vovchansk were occupied. On Sunday, Moscow reported the capture of four more towns.
However, Ukrainian and Russian military observers as well as foreign experts assumed that the attack was not yet aimed at the city of Kharkiv. The Institute for War Studies ISW in the USA spoke of “limited operational objectives”. The attacks were intended to push Ukrainian forces away from the border; The advance was intended to bring Kharkiv back into range of Russian artillery.
The strategic goal is to force the Ukrainians to withdraw soldiers and material from other beleaguered sections of the front in the east. The limited deployment does not suggest “that Russian forces are conducting a large-scale offensive operation to encircle, encircle or capture Kharkiv,” the ISW wrote. Right at the beginning of the war of aggression in spring 2022, Russian troops entered Kharkiv but were repelled.
Residential building in the Russian border region of Belgorod was badly damaged
Meanwhile, in the Russian border region of Belgorod, which borders Kharkiv, a multi-story residential building was severely damaged in an attack. Russia’s Defense Ministry said the house was hit by falling debris from a Ukrainian Tochka-U missile. This could not initially be verified independently. The region’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said at least 19 people were injured. However, initial reports that there were deaths were not confirmed.
There was initially no official reaction from the Ukrainian side. However, the Russian representation was sometimes questioned in the Ukrainian media. The Ukrinform agency, citing an expert, wrote that the destruction visible in the photos suggested that part of the building could have been deliberately blown up in order to provoke and justify its own attacks.