Supply line in jeopardy
Defeats at Kharkiv endanger Moscow’s Donbass plans
By Janis Peitsch
5/11/2022 1:52 p.m
In the Kharkiv region, Ukrainian units are advancing towards the Russian border. Territorial losses could become a serious problem for Moscow. There is an important supply line in the region, which the Kremlin is using for its Donbass offensive.
After weeks on the defensive, Ukrainian associations have been counterattacking in the Kharkov area for a few days. Apparently with success. In the morning, Kyiv reported the recapture of the villages of Cherkasy Tyshky, Ruski Tyshky, Rubishne and Bairak. According to the US Institute for War Research ISW, Kiev’s troops are advancing north from the recently liberated town of Stary Saltiv towards the Russian border. However, the military experts have not yet been able to confirm reports that Ukrainian units are only ten kilometers away from Russian territory.
For Kharkiv’s remaining residents, the land gains bring noticeable relief. Due to the shifting of the front line, the big city moves further and further out of the radius of Russian guns. Because the Russian artillery positions must be moved further inland. In addition, the Ukrainian defenders now control one of the few river crossings in the region, Staryj Saltiv. The settlement is also strategically important for another reason. One of the trunk roads that connects the second largest city in Ukraine with Russia runs through it.
The successes at Kharkiv also endanger the Russian Izyum offensive. Moscow is already having to transfer material and resources north that Moscow actually needs for the pincer attack in Donbass. Yesterday, Ukraine’s General Staff reported that the Kremlin is assembling 19 tactical battalions in Russia’s Belgorod region to halt counterattacks. Belgorod is located about 80 kilometers from Kharkiv.
But there is another point that might make the planners in Moscow nervous. Kiev’s troops are closing in on the Ukrainian border town of Volchansk, which is in Russian hands. An important railway line runs through the city, on which supplies are transported from Russia to Izyum in the south. An interruption of this supply line would be a serious blow to Moscow.
The pincer attack by the Russian armed forces from Izyum has been stagnating for some time. The Ukrainian army has built a deep defense network in the region in recent years, which poses major problems for the attackers. An analysis of the Austrian Armed Forces also assumes that the Russian forces in the front area are far too weak for a successful offensive.