Supreme Commander Oleksandr Chirsky acknowledged that Ukrainian forces are at a disadvantage as Russia claims they have captured several villages. He said modestly, “The invaders are unleashing blows. In Kharkiv and the suburbs. Watch out!’
Ukraine’s top military commander admitted on Sunday that the situation was “difficult” as Russia continued its offensive in the northeastern region of Kharkiv and Moscow said it had captured more villages, the Guardian reports. Nine in two days to be exact.
Colonel Oleksandr Shirsky denied that the Russians had made any significant progress, but said his forces were in a difficult position. “We are facing fierce defensive battles. Attempts by Russian invaders to breach our defenses have been halted,” he wrote in a statement on Telegram.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Ukrainian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Col. Gen. Oleksandr Chirsky shake hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, April 29, 2024.
“Regular Significant Gains for Russia”
Ukraine suffers from chronic manpower and weapons shortages and delays in Western funding. Analysts have been warning of an imminent Russian attack for weeks, and the moves from Friday came with a push around Kharkiv.
“The situation is difficult, but Ukraine’s defense forces are doing everything to hold defense lines and positions and inflict damage on the enemy,” said Chirsky, who was appointed army chief earlier this year.
But the Institute for the Study of War, a US think tank, said on Saturday that earlier Russian claims of capturing four villages appeared accurate and that the latest successes were “strategically important”. On Sunday, Russia said it had brought five more villages under its control.
Until Western aid arrives, Russia steps up its operations.
The tipping point is approaching
UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron told Sky News on Sunday that the Russian attack marked the “most dangerous” moment in the war. The Russian offensive would require the redeployment of Ukrainian troops to the northern front while Russian forces probe the south and east of the country.
Russian military bloggers said Moscow’s troops were trying to take advantage of a “window of opportunity” by pressuring Ukraine to back down amid delays in the arrival of Western aid. On Sunday, the town of Povsansk, which had a pre-war population of 17,000, came under repeated attacks by Russian forces. Volodymyr Tymosko, head of Kharkiv regional police, said Moscow troops were already on the outskirts of the city and approaching it from three directions.
Tymosko said Russia was combining airstrikes with assaults by infantry units, a tactic similar to the one used in Bagmud and Avdiivka in the Donetsk region, which eventually succeeded but destroyed much of the city in the process.
The governor of Kharkiv region, Ole Sinyekubov, said Povsansk was under constant Russian fire on Sunday. About 4,000 people have recently been evacuated from the center of the fire over the past two days, but about 500 remain in the city. “We call on citizens to save their lives and leave areas bombed by the enemy,” he wrote in a telegram.
The Russians are said to have occupied nine villages, some of which were of strategic importance. With each passing day, Russia is said to be getting closer to its goal of fully securing annexed provinces and dead zones.
What the Russians said – what Zelensky confirms
“Units of Battle Group North penetrated deep into the enemy’s defenses and liberated the settlements of Kadys, Krasny, Morokovets and Olnikovo in the Kharkiv region,” the Russian Defense Ministry’s announcement said. The Russian Defense Ministry announced on May 11 that “the combat group has liberated the settlements of Borisovka, Okurtsovo, Pledinovka, Pilnaya and Streletsia in the northern Kharkiv region.”
“In the Kharkiv region, our security operations continue in the villages of Stryletsa, Krasne, Morokovets, Olynikovo, Lukyanchi, Kadish and Pledenivka,” he said, adding, “For the past two days, our soldiers have been conducting counterattacks there, securing Ukrainian territory. Also, the situation in Donetsk is very There is tension, especially in Pokrovsky’s direction,” he added.
Minor differences between the names are found in the linguistic philologies of Russians and Ukrainians. Basically, Ukraine is said to have lost these villages, but the military is conducting counter-attacks to get them back. Each attempt cost the lives of dozens of Ukrainian soldiers, according to the Russians, as they formed a defensive perimeter, according to the ministry.