UKRAINE
Following a major artillery barrage in the Kharkiv region, reports are emerging that Russian forces have attempted to break through the Ukrainian frontlines in the northern border region. The Ukrainian defence ministry has claimed that the attack was repelled, while also confirming that reinforcements would be sent to the region.
- China's CGTN Europeposts on Xcomments attributed to a 'Ukrainian high-ranked military source', claiming that 'Russian forces advanced 1km into Ukraine's Kharkiv region near Vovchansk...[they] aim to advance as much as 10km...in effort to establish a buffer zone'.
- Sergej Sumlenny at the Berlin-based European Resilience Initiative Center think tank posts on X: "Ukraine has successfully destroyed several Russian infiltration groups at Vovchansk, but this can be combat reconnaissance. Up to 40,000 Russian troops are reported to be accumulated across the border. That Russia would start a new attack on Ukraine after Putin's "inauguration" was expected. Russia obviously wants to take one of Ukraine's major cities located close to border (Kharkiv or Sumy) under control, to demonstrate the West "a victory" undermining Ukraine's support."
- A major Russian offensive into the Kharkiv region, previously not seen as a top Russian priority compared to the four oblasts annexed into the Russian federation (Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson). As such, Ukrainian defences there are less embedded than in other areas along the frontline. A mass shift in troops could severely distrupt Ukraine's defence along other constested areas.
Map of Ukraine and Frontlines (Kharkiv front in far northeast)
Source: Warmapper.org
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