Fighting continues in the Kharkiv region. They take place in areas located along the border with Russia.
What is the situation in the Kharkiv region?
AFU Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi reported that the situation in the Kharkiv region has significantly worsened this week.
At the moment, there are ongoing battles in the border areas along the state border with the Russian Federation, the general said.
Syrskyi noted that the situation is difficult, but the Ukrainian Defence Forces are doing everything to hold defensive lines and positions and inflict damage on the enemy.
In particular, in the region:
Challenging battles continue in the Kupiansk, Siversk, Lyman, and Pokrovsk directions, and the situation changes dynamically. In some areas, the enemy has partial success. In others, the Defence Forces push back the enemy and improve their tactical position.
In the Kramatorsk direction, the enemy does not stop trying to capture the city of Chasiv Yar and continues its offensive east of the city. It also unsuccessfully tries to restore the lost position in the Klishchiivka area.
Despite the difficult situation at the front, units are being rotated to rest service members and restore the brigades' combat effectiveness.
What is Putin's Kharkiv offensive for?
According to the ISW team, the Kremlin is primarily counting on being able to:
withdraw the forces of the Armed Forces from other directions,
advance to Kharkiv within range of artillery fire,
create a "buffer zone" to protect Belgorod and limit Ukrainian counteroffensive operations in this region.
In addition, the Russian army conducts relatively limited offensive operations along the Russian-Ukrainian border in the north of the Kharkiv region.
The announced number of Russian units participating in these limited operations, as well as the grouping of Russian troops deployed along the border in northeastern Ukraine, indicates that Russian forces are not conducting a large-scale operation to encircle or capture the city of Kharkiv, the ISW team notes.
American analysts also add that the Russian army was able to advance at least to the outskirts of Ogirtsevo and Gatysh.
According to DeepState analysts, as of May 12, the Russian occupiers advanced in Krasnohorivka, near Volodymyrivka, and occupied Strilecha, Pylne, Krasne, Borysivka, Ohirtseve, and Pletenivka. Analysts have confirmed the enemy's advance in Ivanovo and its surroundings.
