Russian troops continue to advance in the Kharkiv region, capturing a number of small settlements along border and forced Ukrainian troops to withdraw from some positions. As The New York Times writes, the Ukrainian troops, inferior to the Russian army in terms of numbers and armament, can no longer cope with the defense of the 1,000-kilometer front running from Kharkiv to Kherson.
And according to military experts, by opening a new front north of Kharkiv, the Russian army seeks to further stretch Ukrainian lines and facilitate a breakthrough in certain areas.
„The Russians, as well as many analysts, realized that the main shortcoming from which Ukraine suffers now is human resources. By stretching the front line, you increase the chances of a breakthrough,” says Franz-Stefan Gadi, a Vienna-based military analyst.
The immediate goal of the new Russian offensive was to force the Ukrainian army to withdraw urgently needed troops, especially in the area of the city of Chasov Yar. Russian troops have been storming this city for several weeks. And if it is captured, several cities that are crucial to the logistics of Ukrainian troops on the eastern front will be in immediate danger.
Military analysts also believe that the Russians are not only trying to divert Ukrainian troops from the fighting in eastern Ukraine, but are also trying to create a buffer zone along the border to make it difficult for Ukrainian troops to shell Russian territory. They could also try to get close enough to Kharkiv to bomb it and spread panic, as they did in the early days of the war in 2022.
A buffer zone 10 to 15 kilometers deep in Ukrainian territory would certainly create problems for Kharkiv, putting the city within range of Russian artillery. Russia has not yet sent enough troops to the Kharkiv offensive “to create real dilemmas for the Ukrainian military command and force it to make a major transfer from other sectors of the front”.