The Russian army is making a new advance in the northeastern region of Ukraine, in an attempt to break through the Ukrainian lines which worry kyiv and its allies more than two years after the start of the war. According to information from Ukrainian military sources at Reuters, from the early hours of this morning – Friday May 10 – Russian forces launched a ground attack, with armed men and vehicles, in the Kharkiv region, in the northeast of the country. The immediate objective would be to create a “buffer zone”. The Ukrainians appear to be containing their advance, but the battle of “varying intensity” continues, according to reports. For now, Moscow forces have reportedly managed to reach the gates of the town of Vovchansk, about a kilometer from the border with Russia. The city, where only a few thousand inhabitants have remained since the start of the war, has been under massive artillery attack for hours: civilians are leaving the city independently or with the help of the authorities. However, it is feared that once Vovchansk is taken, the Russians will attempt to continue their advance, attempting to push the Ukrainians to retreat at least ten more kilometers. It was Russian President Vladimir Putin himself, Reuters recalls, who spoke of the need for his army to create a “buffer zone” within Ukraine to “protect Russia” from attacks on its territory.
Because the region is strategic
The city of Kharkiv is located approximately 73 kilometers southwest of Vovchansk. The region from which it takes its name, in the northeast of the country, is the one which bordersoblast Russian Belgorod, under fire from months of Ukrainian attacks with missiles and drones – the last of which, with at least 7 dead and 35 injured, four days ago – as well as ground operations carried out by groups of ” Russian partisans, supported by Kiev forces. The Kharkiv region had already been occupied by Moscow troops during the first phase of the war, in the spring of 2022, but was then liberated the following fall. But for months, while Putin's forces have regained the advantage after the failure of kyiv's counter-offensive, the region has been under constant fire from Russian bombings, which have notably seriously damaged the country's energy supply infrastructure. electricity.
Zelensky and the Ukrainian resistance
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared at midday that the Ukrainian defense forces “stopped the Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region.” conducted with a “fierce artillery fight”. According to Zelensky, the Ukrainian armed forces were ready for such action by the Russians. “Our army, our command knew this and calculated its forces to confront the enemy with fire. There is now a brutal battle in the region. »
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