why kyiv expects Russia to continue its offensive to the city of Kharkiv

Fighting intensified in northeastern Ukraine after the launch of the Russian offensive on May 10. Moscow claims the capture of a dozen villages in the region in a week.

Since May 10, Moscow has been carrying out a major assault in the Kharkiv region, near the border between Ukraine and Russia. Speaking to AFP on Friday, May 17, Volodymyr Zelensky said he expected an extension of this offensive in the north and east of the country. “They have launched their operation, it may consist of several waves. And this is their first wave”assured the Ukrainian president on Friday, regarding Russia’s biggest territorial gains since the end of 2022.

What will the next waves of the Russian offensive in the region consist of? Although he believes that Russia does not have the forces to launch a land offensive against kyiv, the capital, Volodymyr Zelensky assures that the Kremlin wants to attack Kharkiv, the country’s second city. “They want it, they want to attack”he warned.

This town is located only a few dozen kilometers from the front, in the northeast of Ukraine. Friday, on the sidelines of a state visit to China, Vladimir Putin assured that Russia did not currently intend to attack Kharkiv. “We do not have this project at the moment”he declared during a press conference.

However, the advance of Russian troops has continued inexorably in the region since May 10. Friday, Russia claimed the capture of 12 Ukrainian villages in this area. The same day, kyiv assured that Russian forces were destroying the town of Vovchansk, northeast of Kharkiv, which has around 20,000 inhabitants.

The capture of another locality was claimed in the region by the Russians on Saturday. “Units of the northern grouping liberated the village of Staritsa in the Kharkiv region and continue their advance deep into the enemy’s defensive positions”, commented the Russian Defense Ministry. Staritsa is a town located about fifteen kilometers from Vovchansk and approximately 45 km from the entrance to Kharkiv.

A little further west, Russian forces advanced on their second axis of assault in the region. They are targeting the village of Luk’yantsi, to open the way to Lyptsi, another locality about twenty kilometers from the entrance to Kharkiv.

“Hostilities continue in Luk’yantsi. Yes, there is an enemy advance in this locality. But our soldiers are still trying to hold it”, said the governor of the Kharkiv region, Oleg Synegoubov, on Friday morning. Faced with this Russian offensive, Ukraine has evacuated nearly 10,000 people in the region since May 10, added Oleg Synegoubov.

According to the regional governor, “in the Kharkiv direction there were two enemy attempts to break through the defense of our troops in the direction of Hlyboke-Lyptsi and Bugruvatka-Staritsa”. “The situation is under control of the defense forces”he assured on Telegram on Saturday.

Despite Kremlin denials, Ukraine is preparing for a crucial battle to defend Kharkiv, an industrial city of approximately 1.1 million inhabitants. In his interview with AFP, Volodymyr Zelensky assured that the battle for control of the city, if it took place, would be tough for the Russian army. “They understand it’s an uphill battle. It’s a big city and they understand that we have forces and that they will fight for a long time.”.

While waiting to get closer, Moscow bombed the city again on Friday. Strikes left at least three dead and 28 injured, according to a final report provided in the evening by the mayor, Igor Terekhov.

Moscow had already failed to take this highly strategic city in the first year of the war. Russian forces managed to advance to the gates of the metropolis in February 2022, before Ukraine managed, in September of the same year, to push the adversary back after a rapid counter-offensive. . The front then settled further east of the country.

In an attempt to repel Russian forces, almost two years later, Ukraine once again called on Western capitals to provide aid, regretting the slow delivery of equipment. The deployment of new Western arms deliveries could still take months during which there is a risk of “breakthroughs” Russians in certain sectors, Volodymyr Zelensky told AFP.

“Russia is strong and we suffer from a lack of military assistance which we must compensate with the heroism and sacrifice of our soldiers”, hammered Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba during a videoconference in Tallinn, Estonia, on Saturday. At the same time, kyiv is struggling to mobilize new soldiers to help a tired army, which could benefit Moscow.