The Kharkiv region has been under constant Russian fire since Friday. But the bitter fighting may be a ploy by the Kremlin, the army command in Kiev suspects. The main blow could come somewhere else.
There are only a few bags that people from Vovchansk in northeastern Ukraine can take with them on their escape. Russian troops have been attacking in the Kharkiv region since Friday. Black clouds of smoke can be seen in the sky. Ukrainian police officers are frantically trying to bring residents to safety, as footage from the Reuters news agency shows.
Kostiantyn Tymchenko also climbs into one of the cars. “The fighting is taking place 500 meters from my house. The Russians are on the other side of the river,” he says. Ukrainian tanks would fire on the opposite bank and drive away again.
“On the other side, people are screaming all the time. You can hear people being captured,” says Tymchenko. He heard some military orders. “There’s constant shooting. Shells are constantly flying – day and night.”
Soldiers complain about poor preparation
The Ukrainian authorities say they have brought more than 4,000 people to safety from the border region with Russia in the past few days. The attack came earlier than expected – but not surprisingly. But some Ukrainian soldiers are angry. There was neither a first line of defense nor minefields in the region, a soldier told the BBC. The Russian troops could have invaded unhindered.
“Small Russian groups have attempted to enter the area and streets of the city of Vovchansk, but Ukrainian forces have repelled them. The city is completely under Ukrainian control.” This is what Tamaz Gambrashvili, head of the Vovchansk military administration, says.
“Maneuvers to tie up our troops”
The Ukrainian military also admits that the situation in the region has worsened in recent days. However, Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Combating Disinformation, sees this as a diversionary tactic by Russian troops. “They are trying to tie up part of our army and force them there to defend themselves.”
The aim is to reduce the presence in the east, where the enemy’s main strike is planned. The Russians would be interested in Pokrovsk, Chasiv Yar, Konstantinovka. “These are the directions. The attack in Kharkiv is a maneuver to tie down our troops.”
Supplies did not reach the troops
President Volodymyr Zelensky also said in his video address on Sunday evening that the Russian military was trying to strain the Ukrainian forces to the utmost with this offensive and with advances on other sectors of the front. The goal behind the attacks is to “disperse our forces and undermine morale.”
Russian troops are taking advantage of the weak position of Ukrainian troops, observers say. Ukrainian soldiers have been complaining about a massive shortage of ammunition and personnel for months. And announced help from the West has apparently not yet reached the troops.