Currently we see the weakest Ukraine. Russian troops are pushing like crazy into Kharkiv Oblast because they know the situation will stabilize when the Ukrainian military gets (congressionally approved) weapons. Ukrainians are in trouble right now and the next few months will be very critical.
This is what political science professor Branislav Slanchev told The Hill, according to whom the Russians are currently desperately trying to take advantage of the window that has opened up for them.
Although Russia does not appear to have the strength to seize significant territory in Kharkiv, its troops have advanced with relative ease and forced Ukraine to deploy reserves, which could threaten Ukrainian positions elsewhere on the front.
A major Russian push into northeastern Kharkiv Oblast has posed one of the most significant challenges since the start of the war for Ukrainian troops, who are short on ammunition and exhausted as they fight along a 1,000km front line. Moscow's surprise incursion into Kharkiv from Russia's Belgorod region last Friday is straining Ukrainian forces already struggling to repel Russian attacks in eastern Ukraine.
Several villages have fallen to Russia and Vladimir Putin's forces are close to capturing the city of Vovchansk, which has begun evacuating thousands of civilians ahead of the Russian advance. According to sources, there are already Russian tanks in the city, and many buildings have been destroyed by the aggressor. Oleksandr Sirsky, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, said in a Telegram post this week that “the situation on the front remains tense”. “The situation in Kharkiv region has significantly worsened,”, he wrote. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address on Tuesday evening that the situation remains difficult, but gradually Ukrainian forces have stabilized the front.
Russia is attacking along the entire front, which is a cause for concern - the populated areas that will be occupied by the Russians will then be well fortified by them. It was the defensive lines that Putin's army created that prevented the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the summer of 2023.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the West to speed up arms deliveries to his country, France Press reported. The agency notes that Zelensky made this appeal against the background of the new Russian offensive - in the northeastern Kharkiv region. "We need a significant acceleration of deliveries. At the moment, too much time passes between the announcement of the (aid) packages and the actual appearance of weapons on the front line," stressed the Ukrainian president, who met with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who arrived on an unannounced advance visit to Kyiv.
According to American military experts, the Russian forces advancing near the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv will probably limit their advance to the rapid creation of a buffer zone between the two countries, DPA reported. That goal is apparently being prioritized over a deeper offensive in the Kharkiv region, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War wrote in a report.