The Russian offensive near Kharkov began. The occupiers want to create a buffer zone

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Russian troops are trying to break through Ukrainian defenses in the border area in the north of the Kharkiv region, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense announced on Friday. The Ukrainian media is writing about the start of another Russian offensive, which has been speculated about for a long time. And further, that the army sent reinforcements to the area.

The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi has already commented on the situation. “Russia has launched a new wave of counter-offensive actions in this area,” he confirmed. “Ukraine responded with its troops, brigades and artillery. The Russians may increase their forces in this direction, but our army, our command knows about it. It counted on it. Now a fierce battle is going on in this direction,” Kharkiv Today quoted Zelensky as saying.

According to the ministry, the Ukrainian troops have managed to repulse the attacks so far, but the fighting continues.

“The armed forces of Ukraine are confidently holding their positions: They have not lost a single meter. Enemy groups do not pose a threat to Kharkiv, their forces are sufficient only as a provocation in the northern direction,” Oleh Synehubov, head of the military administration of the Kharkiv region, said on his account on the Telegram network.

Moscow has recently intensified its attacks on Kharkiv. There has even been speculation that the city could become the target of a larger offensive that Russia could launch in the coming months.

Synehubov already reported on Wednesday that Russia is grouping forces in the north of Kharkiv.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said on Thursday that Russian troops carried out airstrikes in the direction of Vovchansk, which is less than ten kilometers from the Russian border and about 60 kilometers from Kharkiv.

As a reminder, it is good to add that Vovchansk found itself under Russian occupation immediately after the beginning of the invasion on February 24, 2022. The city was de-occupied on September 13, 2022.

On the night of Friday, Vovchansk was under heavy fire. “On the night of May 9-10, the Russians ‘shot’ with all kinds of weapons,” Kharkiv Today reports.

“The situation in the direction of Vovchansk is now very tense. At night, the enemy carried out a massive artillery preparation, subversive reconnaissance groups tried to probe the border line – and were hit. The arrival of the main reserves is expected in the near future, we have to defend ourselves,” wrote the commander of the 24th Ajdar brigade unit with the call sign Osman on Telegram on Friday morning. He added that “in the direction of Vovchansk the infantry was defeated, in Borisivka their infantry and equipment were destroyed.”

“There were also reports that the occupiers tried to break through the defenses near the villages of Hatyshche (north of Vovchansk) and Strilecha (Kharkov District, near Hoptivka),” adds Kharkiv Today.

Similar news later came from official sources. The Ministry of Defense – without specifying the locations – said that Russian forces increased pressure on Ukrainian defenses with the help of artillery in the evening. And around five o’clock in the morning on Friday, enemy units tried to “break through the defense line under the cover of armored vehicles.”

Analysis

On the Ukrainian battlefield, trends that have been brewing for many months are evident in recent weeks. The Ukrainian defenders have a difficult time ahead of them, perhaps the toughest of the entire war.

Although, according to the official statements of the Ukrainian side, during the current offensive, Kyiv did not gain even a centimeter of its territory, a source from the Ukrainian army, who was spoken to by Reuters journalists, claims that the Russian troops managed to advance approximately one kilometer beyond the border.

According to him, the aim of the Russian forces is to establish a buffer zone of up to ten kilometers here.

The Russian-language BBC server reported that some pro-Russian Telegram accounts already wrote in the morning that Russian troops had launched an offensive near Vovchansk, during which they managed to break through the Ukrainian defenses and capture some populated areas. However, he was unable to independently verify this information.