“A total of 1,775 people have been evacuated,” Governor Oleg Synegubov wrote on social media, adding that Russia had carried out artillery and mortar shelling on 30 settlements in the region over the past 24 hours. . Russian forces have made small advances in the border area, from which they were pushed back almost two years ago. The Kharkiv region has been largely under Ukrainian control since September 2022.
“Buffer”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported “intense fighting” across the entire front line on Friday evening. A senior Ukrainian military source said Russian forces had advanced a kilometer into Ukraine and were trying to “create a buffer zone” in the Kharkiv region and neighboring Sumy to prevent attacks on Russian territory. .
Authorities in kyiv have warned for weeks that Moscow could attempt to attack northeastern border regions, pushing its advantage, as Ukraine faces delays in Western aid and shortages of fighters .
Strengthen the defense
The Ukrainian military said it had deployed more troops to the region where, according to Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian forces are using artillery and drones to thwart the Russian advance. “Reserve units have been deployed to strengthen the defense in this area of the front,” the army said.
The Institute for the Study of War said Friday that Russia had made “significant tactical gains” but that the main goal of the operation was “to attract Ukrainian human capabilities and equipment from other critical sectors of the front. The ISW said it did not appear to be a “large-scale offensive operation aimed at enveloping, encircling and seizing Kharkiv”, Ukraine’s second city.