Russians keep bombing areas around Kharkiv.
Are Russian troops moving back towards the megacity of Kharkiv? While they're currently engaged in multiple battles in the border area, the US think tank ISW suggests they're not planning on fully "surrounding or capturing Kharkiv" just yet.
The Ukrainian military continues to fend off a Russian offensive in the region bordering Kharkiv, a city with a population of one million. Over nine battles were reported on this stretch of the frontline today, with Ukrainian forces claiming to have repelled the advances.
"The enemy is deploying ground troops and equipment," said a statement released by the General Staff on Friday night. They've been reporting Russian forces advancing on two major sections of the front since Friday. This doesn't come as much of a surprise given that tens of thousands of Russian soldiers had been built up at the border. President Putin had even threatened an offensive back in March.
Despite this, both Ukrainian and Russian military personnel as well as international analysts agree that the current offensive is not yet focused on capturing Kharkiv. ISW refers to the objectives as "limited operational targets." The battles are intended to drive Ukrainian forces away from the border, bringing Kharkiv back into range of Russian artillery.
The main goal seems to be forcing the Ukrainians to pull back troops and supplies from other areas along the front where they're facing heavy pressure. This isn't indicative of a large-scale operation to encircle or capture Kharkiv, according to ISW. Russian troops had entered and then withdrawn from Kharkiv near the start of the invasion last year.
Two attack fronts
Reports coming from the front line suggest that the attack has two main prongs. Russian troops have taken control of a number of Ukrainian villages near a 30-kilometer stretch of the border north of Kharkiv. The village of Lipzy was named as the target of this offensive by the Ukrainian General Staff. The second attack seems to focus on the city of Vovchansk, roughly 40 kilometers northeast of Kharkiv. Several small towns along the border were also seized during this operation. Experts believe that Vovchansk may have been targeted to disrupt Ukraine's supply routes to Kupyansk.
Russia claims Ukraine retaliated by launching rocket artillery and drone attacks on the Russian border region of Belgorod on Saturday night. Rockets were also reported in Belgorod during the morning. A fire was sparked at a fuel depot in Rowenki, a Russian-occupied town in the Luhansk region. Ukraine has been engaged in defense against the massive Russian invasion for over two years.
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Source: www.ntv.de
