On Saturday, Russia announced its military had taken control of five villages in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. These settlements – Pletenivka, Ohirtseve, Borysivka, Pylna, and Strilechna – are all located on the Ukrainian-Russian border. Moscow also confirmed its troops had seized the village of Keramik in the Donetsk region to the south. The Donetsk region has seen slow but consistent Russian progression following the occupation of the Ukrainian stronghold, Avdiivka, in February.
Officials from Ukraine confirmed on Friday that Russia had initiated a new cross-border attack into the Kharkiv region, home to Ukraine’s second largest city. The assault continued into Saturday with the Kharkiv governor, Oleh Syniehubov, stating Russia was hoping to continue its advance into the northern part of the region. He revealed that local forces had managed to thwart nine Russian assaults and fighting was still underway in the five aforementioned villages.
To assist in stabilising the situation, the Ukrainian military dispatched reinforcements to the Kharkiv region following Russia’s aggressive onslaught on Friday. Syniehubov stated that on Friday, more than 30 distinct locations were struck by artillery, mortar, and aerial attacks, resulting in at least three fatalities and injuries to five others. He further divulged that over 2,500 inhabitants had been successfully evacuated from the frontier area – a process still in motion.
Senior Ukrainian officials reiterated their stance, confidently stating that Russia lacks the resources to successfully occupy Kharkiv, a city of 1.3 million residents. Ukraine saw its first Russian attack in the Kharkiv region in February 2022, and swiftly pushed back with a counter-offensive in September, regaining control over most of the province. Since then, regular Ukrainian drone and artillery strikes have been launched against Russia’s neighbouring Belgorod region.
In March, when questioned about the possibility of Russian troops having to seize the Kharkiv area, President Vladimir Putin of Russia argued that in order to protect Russian land from Ukrainian attacks, the formation of a safe zone is necessary, which would put Moscow’s territory beyond the reach of Kyiv’s military forces.
Russia has command over nearly 18% of Ukrainian territory, concentrating on the southern and eastern regions. This domination has been progressively increasing following the unsuccessful counter-offensive in 2023 by Kyiv, which failed to make significant headway against the firmly entrenched Russian soldiers. This information arises from Reuters and AP reports.