Putin seeks to crush Kharkiv

Hours after the nightly rain of bombs had fallen on Kharkiv, the regional governor stood outside a partially-destroyed apartment block.

“Russia is targeting these places where people live because they are trying to strike terror into civilians,” Oleh Syniehubov said.

The bombing, he added, was worse than at any time since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces besieged the city two years ago.

The invaders were driven back from Kharkiv in the first year of the war but it is now all too clear that the latest strategy for capturing Ukraine’s second city is to simply blast it into submission.

Indeed, Vladimir Solovyov, the Kremlin’s propagandist-in-chief, declared during a national broadcast last week: “Kharkiv should be wiped from the face of the earth.”

Since February, the civilian population has been subjected to daily missile strikes and drone attacks, with energy infrastructure and residential buildings the primary targets. Dozens of villages in the region, which borders Russia, have had to be evacuated after heavy shelling.

As a result, 526,000 people – one in five – in Kharkiv and its surroundings are classed as “internally displaced persons” (IDPs), according to Syniehubov.

At the weekend, eight people were killed and 10 were injured when missiles struck residential buildings and a petrol station to the northeast of the city.

Kharkiv’s proximity to the Donetsk Basin and its position at the centre of a network of railways means it holds enormous strategic value. Located 40km from the Russian border, its capture would let Moscow

encircle Ukrainian forces in Donbas.

Verstka, an independent Russian publication, says the Kremlin is planning to mobilise 300,000 soldiers for a new offensive against the city in the coming months. Ukraine has called this Russian “psy-ops”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insisted that Kharkiv “is not in danger” but added the Russians did not hide the fact that it was a “desirable target”.

The sustained bombardment has highlighted Ukraine’s dwindling air defences. “If they keep hitting every day the way they have for the past month, we might run out of missiles, and the partners know it.”

There are growing fears too of a Russian summer offensive in the east. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, expected a renewed assault as soon as next month, concentrating on the Chasiv Yar and Pokrovsk sectors.

He described the situation on the battlefield as “difficult, but under control”. Ukraine, he added, might launch an offensive of its own. He appealed to Germany to provide Taurus cruise missiles: “It’s an outstanding weapon for hitting ... very important targets.”

In Kharkiv, finding accommodation for those who have lost their homes is becoming more difficult. Small towns and villages near the city have become IDP hubs, including Valky, population 8000, which is sheltering 23,000 displaced people.

Valentina Harmai, 72, and her daughter Natalia, 52, had to flee Kharkiv when a Russian rocket destroyed their home. They now share a five-bed dormitory in a building that once housed football players.

“I miss my home,” said a teary Valentina. “But here at least we know that we are safe from the rockets.” – The Times