Russians try to break through Ukrainian defense lines north of Kharkiv | Ukraine

Russian forces have attacked across the Ukrainian border north of Kharkiv, potentially opening a new front in the war and increasing pressure on Ukraine’s second-largest city.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said there was “an attempt by the enemy to break through our defense line with armored vehicles” near the city of Vovchansk around 5 a.m. on Friday and that the first attacks were repelled.

There were also reports of fighting in the further west border villages of Strilecha, Pylna and Borysivka and that Russian troops had advanced about a kilometer around Vovchansk, but these could not be confirmed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country’s armed forces were prepared for the attack. “Ukraine met them there with troops – brigades and artillery,” he told a news conference in Kiev, but warned that Russia could send more troops to support its new attack.

Influential Russian military blogger Rybar described the attack as “reconnaissance by force” rather than a large-scale attack, describing that the combat zone had been expanded “to a depth of 2 to 3 km” in some border areas. The attacks targeted Ukrainian artillery points to weaken defenses, the blogger added.

Russia has gradually intensified military operations around Kharkiv over the past month, taking advantage of Ukraine’s limited air defenses to bomb the city and its surroundings, displacing more of its 1.3 million residents and turning it into an increasingly depopulated gray zone .

Kharkiv, about 20 miles south of the Russian border, resolutely resisted the initial invasion in spring 2022. A lightning-fast Ukrainian counteroffensive in September of that year pushed Moscow forces back far beyond the range of artillery fire and encouraged many more civilians to return.

Oleh Syniehubov, the governor of Kharkiv Oblast, said there had been heavy Russian shelling in the border areas over the past day and appealed to residents around Vovchansk and Lyptsi to leave their homes. Earlier this week, Syniehubov said a concentration of Russian forces had been spotted south of Belgorod.

The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday did not comment on attempts to break through Ukrainian defense lines, nor did it announce a new offensive in the Kharkiv region. However, the ministry claimed to have captured two towns in the region, Kotlyarovka and Kislovka, and also “repelled Ukrainian counterattacks” along the front.

Other popular Russian military bloggers confirmed reports of artillery strikes along the border area but warned Russia’s most optimistic supporters against declaring victory for now.

“Since yesterday evening, the northern troops have actually launched the most powerful artillery and air strikes against the enemy,” wrote Starshe Eddy, who claimed without evidence that a dozen Ukrainian soldiers had been captured. As the bombing continued, the broadcaster added: “No one is storming Volchansk yet.”

Russia is expected to recruit additional troops this year, and Russian and Ukrainian military officials said fighting on the front lines is expected to increase in May and June as Russia seeks to exploit weapons shortages in Ukraine before arms shipments from the country resume USA arrive.

Analysts say Russia, which has an estimated 500,000 troops stationed in Ukraine, is capable of attacking in multiple locations, benefiting from an estimated five to 10-to-one artillery surplus and weak air defenses.

The attacks in the Kharkiv region may simply be an attempt to force Ukraine to move its reserves to the region. Currently, Russia’s main offensive appears to remain focused on the Donbass region in southeastern Ukraine, where Russian forces are attempting to capture the frontline town of Chasiv Yar.

“Russia lacks the strength to take Kharkiv, but that does not appear to be their goal,” said Michael Kofman, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment think tank. “The Russian attack is likely aimed at luring Ukrainian reserves to Kharkiv and pinning them down to enable offensives in Donetsk (Khasiv Yar and Pokrovsk).”

Earlier this year, the independent Russian news site Vyorstka reported that Moscow plans to recruit up to 300,000 troops to prepare for an invasion of the Kharkiv region. The report cited sources in the Kremlin, the Defense Ministry and regional governments, but was not confirmed by other media outlets.

However, few believe that Kharkiv is in danger of being taken without Russia sending large numbers of troops to wage a highly risky battle against an enemy city. Several analysts said Vladimir Putin’s goal appeared to be to make the city uninhabitable.

Putin said in a public speech in March that he would consider creating a demilitarized “sanitary zone” in the areas now under the Kiev regime and that the zone must be large enough to withstand attacks from foreign-supplied troops Troops enter Russian territory to prevent missiles or attack groups. Last month, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the city of Kharkiv would be part of this demilitarized zone.

Before the war, Kharkiv was Ukraine’s second largest city by population, and many of the city’s residents have remained despite Russian missile attacks aimed at destroying infrastructure. The situation has been exacerbated by Russia’s use of glide bombs, which are difficult for Ukraine’s weakened air defenses to intercept.