Russia has launched a new armoured offensive early on Friday morning in the Kharkiv Oblast in North Eastern Ukraine nearly two-years after losing the city to a Ukrainian counter-offensive in which Ukraine re-captured 12,000 square kilometers it had lost to Russia at the beginning of the conflict in the early months of the invasion away from the South and Central portions of the frontline which are seeing more active combat.
The town of Vovchansk has been the focal point of Russian offensive and has been repeatedly hit by the Russian air force and artillery. The Ukrainians claim that the Russian incursion is a kilometre deep and that the intent of the assault is to drive back the defenders another 10 km. Ukraine has sent reinforcements to the regions where the Russians have entered. Ukrainian media claims that four villages have been captured by the invaders.
Ukraine was aware of a Russian build-up to the North of Kharkiv near Sumy and Chernihiv, places that made headlines during the initial invasion. The Ukrainians were unsure whether the build-up was for a fresh offensive or a ploy to divert Ukrainian forces away from other more active sectors of the conflict. Ukraine has been expecting a big Russian offensive as elucidated by the Ukrainian President.
Ukrainians fear that the Russians want to extend the buffer between the contact line and the Russian settlements in an effort to stop cross-border Ukrainian artillery fire and to stop raids emanating from the war-ravaged nation.
According to Ukrainian assessments, Russia does not currently have the force levels to capture Kharkiv, the nation’s second-largest city, with a population of 13 lakh people. The offensive comes at a time when Ukraine is facing a manpower crunch and its ammunition stocks, especially artillery and air-defence ammunition, are dwindling despite help from the West.
(with inputs from Reuters)
