It appears that Kharkiv IS more than the Russia troops can get to……
But the gains of the Russians have beeen substantial….
We will see what happens when the Ukraine gets it restocking of ammo, arms, other weapons….
Ukraine is still firing INTO Russia at military and energy assets…..
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Russia does not have sufficient forces on the ground to make a major breakthrough in Ukraine after launching its offensive in the Kharkhiv region, Nato’s supreme allied commander for Europe, Christopher Cavoli, said on Thursday. “More to the point they don’t have the skill and the ability to do it,” said the US general. “I’ve been in very close contact with our Ukrainian colleagues and I’m confident that they will hold the line.
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Ukraine said on Thursday it was trying to “stabilise” the frontline in the Kharkiv region. Moscow has seized 278 sq km (107 sq miles) of Ukrainian territory between 9 and 15 May, based on data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). It represents the largest territorial gain in a single operation since mid-December 2022. Cavoli said Ukraine’s forces were “being shipped vast amounts of ammunition, vast amounts of short range air defence systems and significant amounts of armoured vehicles right now”……
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The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said he expects Russia to step up its offensive in the north-east and warned Kyiv has only a quarter of the air defences it needs to hold the front line.
Russian forces, which had made only moderate advances in recent months, launched a surprise assault in Kharkiv region on 10 May that has resulted in their biggest territorial gains in a year-and-a-half.
Zelenskiy said Russian troops advanced between five to 10km (3-6 miles) along the north-eastern border before being stopped by Ukrainian forces, but added that fighting in the region could be the “first wave” in a wider offensive.
“I won’t say it’s a great success [for Russia] but we have to be sober and understand that they are going deeper into our territory,” he said, speaking to Agence-France Presse from Kyiv in his first interview with foreign media since the offensive began….
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Zelenskiy insisted Ukraine was still playing the long game as western allies pressed for a quick end to the war.
“The west wants the war to end. Period. As soon as possible. And, for them, this is a fair peace,” he said.
“We are in a nonsense situation where the west is afraid that Russia will lose the war. And it does not want Ukraine to lose it,” he said.
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said during a trip to China this week the north-eastern offensive was in retaliation for Ukraine’s shelling of border regions and that Moscow was trying to create a “security zone”.
Russian forces have taken 278 sq km (107 sq miles) between 9 and 15 May, their biggest gains since the end of 2022, AFP calculated using data from the Institute for the Study of War.
On Saturday, the governor of Kharkiv, Oleg Synegubov, said Ukraine’s armed forces had repelled two attempts to break through defences overnight, with the situation “under control”.
Ukrainian officials have accused Russian soldiers in Vovchansk of capturing dozens of civilians and using them as “human shields” to defend their command headquarters – a claim AFP was not able to immediately verify….