Press
Russian attacks on Kharkiv are increasing. But is Moscow actually planning a completely different attack? Volodymyr Zelenskyj has a theory.
Moscow/Kyiv – Russia is pushing Ukraine War further towards Kharkiv. Almost daily the region is plagued by attacksFor example, 18 people were killed in an air raid on a large building materials store in Kharkiv on Saturday, Dmytro Chubenko, spokesman for the Kharkiv regional prosecutor’s office, told the US-funded media channel Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty explained.
But are the many attacks on the region ultimately a Russian “diversionary tactic”? Moscow should prepare for a new offensive near the border with Ukraine, warned the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday. On May 10, Russia launched its offensive on Kharkiv.
Ukraine believes in new Russian attack away from Kharkiv
According to a statement by Selenskyj on May 16, Russia is about 1.6 kilometers penetrated the regionuntil Ukraine was able to stabilize the advance. “There is no progress at all in the direction of some enemy brigades,” he said.
So there is little movement in Kharkiv. In a video address to the nation, Zelensky said Russia is currently concentrating its forces in the Belgorod region near the border with Ukraine. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based think tank, analyzed on Sunday that this could be part of an attempt to lure Zelensky’s troops into the area and “prepare offensive operations aimed at expanding Russia’s position in the region.”
Zelenksyj: “We know who we are dealing with”
Selensky continued: “Russia is also preparing for offensive actions 90 kilometers northwest of here – they are gathering another group of troops near our border … the one who is doing all this does not want peace,” said the Ukrainian president, referring to a Reutersreport from last Friday claiming that Putin was ready to “freeze” the war in Ukraine at the current front lines, based on four anonymous Russian sources.
“We all know who we are dealing with,” Zelensky said of Sunday’s attack. “Russia is ruled by men who want to make it the norm – burning lives, destroying cities and villages, dividing people and erasing national borders through war. There is no nation that can stop such a war alone.”
Where will Russia strike next? Various areas possible
The ISW said that Selensky was apparently referring to the Grayvoron-Borisovka-Proletarskiy area in the Russian Belgorod region. The institute had discovered movements on satellite images that indicate that Vladimir Putin’s Troops have expanded their activities in depots and warehouses in settlements in the region in recent weeks. However, the extent of the concentration of Kremlin troops there remains unclear.
The representative of the Ukrainian State Border Service, Andrei Demchenko, said that Moscow’s forces may launch offensive operations in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region or in areas of Kharkiv region bordering Sumy “in order to further expand and fix the Ukrainian armed forces along the international border area.”
Ukraine demands permission to use Western weapons in Russia
Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to demand permission from the USA and other Western states to use rockets and cruise missiles to attack Russia in order to fight the enemy more effectively. So far, Kiev has mainly used drones of its own production for these attacks. So far, the Russian military has been able to assemble units behind the border for new attacks on Ukrainian territory with virtually no interference, or to bomb cities near the border such as Kharkiv from a safe position with aircraft.
According to Putin, such permission from Western states would amount to a direct confrontation between Russia and the West. Putin threatened Europe with “serious consequences” if Ukraine were allowed to use the long-range precision weapons supplied by Western countries against Russian territory in the future. (cgsc with dpa)
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