Ukraine war
Glide bombs and artillery fire: Russia launches major attack on border region near Kharkiv
After a Russian rocket attack on a house near Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, a firefighter tries to put out the fire
© Ukrinform / DPA
Fierce fighting breaks out in northeastern Ukraine. Russia is said to have massed tens of thousands of soldiers there. The section of the border near the city of Kharkiv had previously been bombed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has spoken of a “fierce battle” in the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine after the start of a massive Russian ground offensive. “Russia has launched a new wave of counter-offensive actions,” Zelensky said at a news conference. “Ukraine met them there with our troops, brigades and artillery.”
The Defense Ministry in Kiev had previously said that Russian forces had attempted to break through Ukrainian defense lines with armored vehicles in Kharkiv early in the morning. The ministry also said that the attacks had been “pushed back” but that “fights of varying intensity” were still taking place.
A new Russian offensive in Ukraine has been feared for some time
There has been speculation for weeks about a possible Russian offensive near Kharkiv. There are reports that Russian troops have amassed tens of thousands of troops there. The fact that the Ministry of Defense in Kiev commented on it, not the General Staff as usual, speaks for the seriousness of the situation. “Reserves are being brought in to strengthen the defense on this section of the front,” the ministry said.
The day before, the section of the front near Vovchansk had been bombed from the air with glide bombs by Russian fighter planes. Russian artillery shelled the front Ukrainian positions overnight in preparation for the attack. The Russian military blogger Rybar also described the fighting near Vovtschansk: The first thing was to expand the combat zone and to identify the enemy positions during the battle.
Russia has been trying to capture the border region of Kharkiv since its invasion began in February 2022. Although the Russian troops had to largely withdraw from there in the fall of 2022, as everywhere on the front, they have taken the initiative there again since the failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the summer of 2023.