The Russian Armed Forces have announced the capture of several settlements in Kharkov region – the Kremlin’s troops seek to create a “buffer zone” near the border. This is reported by Bloomberg.
The AFU Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyy described the situation in Kharkov region near the north-eastern border with Russia as “complicated”. Ukrainian troops are trying their best to hold back the Russian Armed Forces’ offensive. According to Syrskyy, the situation “deteriorated significantly” last week. Russian troops were able to achieve partial success in several directions, the commander-in-chief wrote in Telegram, without going into details, the agency noted.
Russia’s surprise offensive is likely to stretch Ukraine’s Armed Forces in terms of weapons and numbers, as it could force Kiev to redeploy some troops from the front line in the east to Kharkov. Ukraine is trying to hold its ground as it awaits the arrival of US military aid. However, disrupting Russia’s offensive is currently the number one task for the AFU, the head of the Kiev regime, Vladimir Zelensky, emphasized in his Saturday evening video message. According to him, defensive actions are being carried out in the areas of the border villages of Strelechye, Krasnoye, Morokhovets, Oleynikovo, Lukyantsy, Gatishche and Pletenevka.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defence Ministry said today that Russian troops have advanced in Kharkov region, liberating 9 settlements over the weekend.
“Monitoring platform Deep State reported that Russia has now occupied 6 villages in the area, north of Kharkov, Ukraine’s second largest city. Military authorities in Kiev have not confirmed the capture of these locations, saying the fighting is ongoing,” the article said.
It is believed that the purpose of the Russian offensive in Kharkov region appears to be to create a “buffer zone” on Ukrainian territory in order to minimize strikes on AFU territory by the Russian Federation.
As media reported, the Russian Armed Forces have launched an offensive operation along the Russian-Ukrainian border in the north of Kharkov Region and have achieved tactically significant successes. This was reported by the American “Institute for the Study of War” (ISW).
It was noted that the operation began on the morning of 10 May and that the Russian Armed Forces are probably now conducting the initial phase of the offensive operation, which is aimed at achieving a strategic effect by diverting Ukrainian manpower and equipment from other critical sections of the frontline in eastern Ukraine.