Russia initiates attack on northeastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv: Defense Forces Repel Assault

Russian military forces have initiated an assault on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, seeking to exploit their superior weaponry and manpower before additional US military assistance arrives.

The defense ministry in Kyiv reported that Russian armored units tried to penetrate Ukrainian defensive positions early Friday following artillery and air attacks near Vovchansk, a town situated 70 kilometers northeast of Kharkiv city.

“At present, these assaults have been thwarted, although battles of differing degrees of intensity persist,” the ministry stated on the social media platform X. “Additional units have been mobilized to bolster defenses in this vicinity. The Ukrainian Defense Forces remain steadfast in repelling the enemy’s advance.”

Russia initiates attack on northeastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv: Ukraine Engages Russian Assault with Strategic Deployment; Intense Fighting in Kharkiv Region

Addressing the Russian assault, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remarked, “Ukraine responded with our troops, brigades, and artillery in that area. While it’s significant that they may escalate and reinforce their forces in this direction, our military and leadership were aware of this and strategically deployed our forces to engage the enemy with firepower. Currently, intense fighting is ongoing in this region.”

Oleh Syniehubov, governor of the Kharkiv region, stated that after a night of heavy artillery and glide bomb bombardment, there were unsuccessful efforts by sabotage and reconnaissance groups to breach the defensive line.

For several weeks, Ukrainian officials and analysts from Western countries have been expecting Russian forces to potentially launch an offensive into the Kharkiv or Sumy regions of Ukraine. Thus far, Russia has primarily focused its offensives in the eastern Donetsk region, particularly around the strategically significant town of Chasiv Yar.

According to a Ukrainian military official interviewed by the FT on Wednesday, Russia was preparing offensives along the northeastern frontline to divert Ukrainian forces away from Donetsk, where they are struggling to maintain defensive positions due to being heavily outgunned and outnumbered. Parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, collectively known as the Donbas, have been under occupation since 2014.

Major General Vadym Skibitsky, deputy head of Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence service, informed The Economist last week that Russia had around 35,000 troops from its northern grouping stationed across the border from Kharkiv and was seeking to increase this number to up to 50,000. Skibitsky noted that while this force might not be enough to seize Kharkiv, it could facilitate a “swift operation to enter and exit” the area.

According to Frontelligence, a analytical group led by a former Ukrainian officer, Russian forces reportedly crossed the border near the Ukrainian village of Strilecha, situated west of Vovchansk, and seized several nearby settlements. The group noted that this move was an anticipated tactic to draw Ukrainian resources away from the main Russian offensive in Donbas, potentially forcing Ukraine to redistribute personnel due to manpower constraints.

Although Russian forces may aim to deploy additional units to breach more border areas or reinforce initial gains, they have yet to breach Ukraine’s primary line of defense, which lies farther back from the frontier.

The timing of the Russian offensive coincides with a gap between the US Congressional approval of $61 billion in aid for Ukraine last month and the delivery of US weaponry and ammunition to the frontlines. Delays in European supplies have also been reported, with Czech President Petr Pavel stating earlier this week that an emergency shipment of artillery munitions, funded by EU countries, is now expected to arrive in Ukraine in June. Pavel attributed the delays in Czech-led procurement efforts to Russian “countermeasures,” as he mentioned in an interview with Germany’s ARD television.

Furthermore, Ukraine is set to expand its mobilization efforts to recruit more soldiers for its armed forces, with new laws slated to take effect later this month.

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