Russia is ‘ready’ for Nato troops
RUSSIA warned yesterday that it was ready for a ground war with Nato if Western troops came to the defence of Ukraine.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke as Moscow’s soldiers smashed Ukrainian defences close to Kharkiv, the country’s second largest city.
The attack has forced more than 6,000 Ukrainians to flee their homes to escape the enemy advance.
Lavrov warned that Russia was ready for direct conflict with Western troops if they were sent to defend Ukrainian soil.
He said of the choice facing Nato powers: “It’s their right. If they want it to be on the battlefield, it will be on the battlefield.”
He spoke after Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said he would host Western nuclear weapons should war break out.
Mr Kristersson said: “Should the very worst happen, the democratic countries in our part of the world must be able to defend themselves.
Destroyer
“Our entire Nato membership and Swedish defence aim is to prevent that situation from occurring.
“If Ukraine had been a member of Nato, they would not have been attacked by Russia.”
Western allies were surprised after Vladimir Putin sacked his veteran defence minister Sergei Shoigu and replaced him with deputy prime minister Andrei Belousov.
Belousov has no military experience but is an economist. It is believed the Russian president, dismayed at the cost of his two-year war in Ukraine, wants him to sort out his arms industry which has been ravaged by corruption and widespread military equipment failures.
Putin’s forces are bearing down on the town of Vovchansk near Kharkiv from three directions after launching a surprise attack on Friday.
They have seized at least nine villages and settlements in one of the most significant ground attacks since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. One Ukrainian commander told the BBC that Putin’s troops simply “walked in” because “there was no first line of defence”.
Ukrainian forces said there was still heavy fighting taking place to repel the advance. Meanwhile, thousands civilians fled towards Kharkiv, taking their belongings and their pets, with Ukrainian military chiefs fearing what could happen if Russian forces get within artillery range of the city.
The army said Moscow has deployed “significant forces” of up to five battalions and acknowledged it achieved some “tactical success”.
But in a statement, it claimed that Russia had lost more than 100 troops in a day, adding that it was taking steps to push back.
Vovchansk, 45 miles from Kharkiv, has been heavily bombed in recent days and officials in the surrounding region say the Kremlin is now targeting settlements with glide bombs.
These are winged explosives weighing around 1.5 tons and nicknamed the “building destroyer”.
While Vovchansk is a significant town in the region, it is not of specific military importance, though its
capture would hit Ukrainian morale. Kharkiv’s regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said Russia was able to open a new front in northeastern Ukraine because of delays in the supply ofWestern weapons.
He added: “We feel it and our soldiers on the battlefield feel it. We have been conducting a defensive operation for practically six months, awaiting new supplies. The enemy outweighs us in armaments – not in quality but in quantity.”
Mr Syniehubov believes Moscow’s forces are trying to stretch the front line by attacking in small groups in new directions. Almost 6,000 people have been evacuated, he said, adding that 30 settlements had been struck by mortar or artillery shelling.
Kostyantyn Tymchenko, who lives in Vovchansk, is among those leaving for the relative safety of Kharkiv.
He was shocked by how close the fighting was and said: “Half a kilometre away, there is fighting, automatic weapons. Tanks are constantly approaching, shooting back and then leaving. I thought it would be OK. I was shocked. I wish I had known in advance.” Away from Kharkiv, two people were killed by shelling in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian security source said its forces had struck an oil terminal and electrical substation in western Russia.