Russian forces attempt to break through Ukrainian lines north of Kharkiv
Russian forces attacked across the Ukrainian border to the north of Kharkiv yesterday in an apparent effort to open a new front and intensify the pressure on the country’s second city.
Ukraine’s defence ministry said there had been “an attempt by the enemy to break through our defence line using armoured vehicles” near the town of Vovchansk, and the initial attacks had been repelled.
There were also reports of fighting in the border villages of Strilecha, Pylna and Borysivka farther west, and that Russian forces had advanced by about half a mile near Vovchansk, though these could not be confirmed.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said his country’s forces had been ready for the attack. “Ukraine met them there with troops – brigades and artillery,” he said at a press conference in Kyiv, though he warned that Russia could send more troops to support its fresh attack.
The influential Russian military blogger Rybar described the attack as a “reconnaissance in force” rather than a full-scale assault, and described the battle zone as being expanded to “a depth of 2km-3km” in some border areas. Attacks were aimed at Ukrainian artillery positions, the blogger added.
Russia has been intensifying operations around Kharkiv, taking advantage of limited air defences to bomb in and around the city in an attempt to persuade more of its 1.3 million residents to flee.
Last night the US announced a new $400m (£319m) package of military aid, including rockets, surface-to-air missiles and armoured vehicles. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said it was intended, in part, to help Ukraine fend off the assault on Kharkiv.
“It is possible that Russia will make further advances in the coming weeks, but we do not anticipate any major breakthroughs,” Kirby said.
Kharkiv, about 20 miles south of the border with Russia, firmly resisted the initial invasion in the spring of 2022. A Ukrainian counteroffensive in September that year pushed Moscow’s forces back well beyond the range of artillery fire, encouraging many civilians to return.
Oleh Syniehubov, the governor of Kharkiv oblast, said there had been heavy Russian shelling in the border areas for the past day, and appealed to residents around Vovchansk and Lyptsi to leave their homes. This week, Syniehubov said, Russian forces had been spotted building up south of Belgorod.
The Russian defence ministry did not make any mention of attempts to breach Ukrainian defensive lines or announce a new offensive in the Kharkiv region. But it did claim to have taken two towns in the region, Kotlyarovka and Kislovka, and to have “repulsed Ukrainian counterattacks” along the frontlines.
Other Russian military bloggers corroborated reports of artillery bombardments along the border
nd area, but warned against declaring victory prematurely. “The northern troops have been really launching the most powerful artillery and airstrikes against the enemy since yesterday evening,” wrote Starshe Eddy, who claimed without evidence that a dozen Ukrainian soldiers had been captured in the attack.
Russia is expected to deploy additional troops this year, and Russian and Ukrainian military officials have said fighting is expected to intensify as Moscow attempts to exploit Ukrainian weapons shortages before the arrival of renewed US arms supplies. Analysts say Russia, which has an estimated 500,000 soldiers in Ukraine, is able to attack in multiple locations, taking advantage of artillery superiority estimated at between five and 10 to one.
The attacks in the Kharkiv region could simply be an effort to force Kyiv to move reserves into the region. For the moment, the main Russian offensive appears to remain concentrated in the Donbas region, in south-east Ukraine, where Russian forces are attempting to seize the frontline town of Chasiv Yar.
“Russia lacks the forces to take Kharkiv, but this does not appear to be their objective,” said Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment thinktank. “The Russian attack is likely aimed at drawing Ukrainian reserves to Kharkiv to enable offensives in Donetsk, [in] Chasiv Yar and Pokrovsk.”
Earlier this year, the independent Russian news website Vyorstka reported that Moscow was planning to recruit as many as 300,000 soldiers to prepare an invasion of the Kharkiv region. However, few believe Kharkiv is at risk of capture without Russia pouring in massive numbers of troops to fight a highly risky battle.