According to Ivan Tymochka, head of the Council of Reservists of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the criminal army of the Russian Federation is currently making attempts to capture the Oskil reservoir in the Kharkiv region, which is of strategic importance for the Ukrainian military.
What is known about the situation in the combat zone in Kharkiv Oblast
They will try to constantly push the entire front line - that's for sure. As for the Lymano-Kupian direction, their ultimate goal is the Oskil reservoir, the Izyum direction, from where they were knocked out as part of our offensive operation. This is an image issue for them, the second army of the world terribly lost the battle for Kharkiv. Of course, they will always try to take revenge in this direction, - explains the military man.
He emphasized that the Russian occupiers understand that sooner or later, the Ukrainian military will go on the counteroffensive again and the Oskil reservoir, according to the command of the occupying army of the Russian Federation, poses a threat of a breakthrough for the Armed Forces.
And also, let's say, to reach the water line, which is almost 80 km - this would give them the opportunity to build some engineering fortifications in this direction, although again, when they were retreating from the Kharkiv region at the time, they tried to build fortifications along the Oskil reservoir, but then there was so much panic in their troops that they abandoned it only after starting some basic preparatory work, - Tymochko notes.
He warned that it should be taken into account that the Russian occupiers drew conclusions from their own mistakes during hostilities on the territory of the Kharkiv region.
Putin desperately needs victories. You see, he can always present a small village, through his propaganda, as a victory. He probably wants to perform somewhere against the background of the scenery, like Napoleon in his time against the background of the Egyptian pyramids. It's all Putin, in general, the battles in this direction have lost their military significance for them, - Tymochko explains.
What is known about the situation in the Svatovo region
Tymochko noted that at the moment there is no official confirmation of the previous statements of analysts from the Institute of War (ISW) about the alleged capture of Krokhmalny by Russian occupation forces on the border of Kharkiv and Luhansk regions.
ISW analysts said on January 21 that Russian occupation forces allegedly captured this settlement, located 20 km from Svatovo.
Tymochko confirmed that even if this information is confirmed, we are talking about a completely normal situation.
In fact, this is a regular situation that often occurs on the front line, when one of the opponents tries to squeeze the other. Now the Russians have succeeded, - Tymochko explains.
According to him, the Ukrainian military always has the ability to return lost territories.
However, Tymochko notes that, at the same time, it is very important for Ukraine to preserve personnel, and therefore the possible retreat from Krokhmalny should be treated with understanding.
In his opinion, even in the event of a retreat of the Ukrainian military from Krakhmalny, we should not expect significant changes on the Kupyansk-Svatov front line.
At the moment, it is important that all measures on the part of the Ukrainian army are observed, so that the Russians do not deploy bridgeheads for further advancement, - explains the military man.
Tymochko assumed that the occupation army of the Russian Federation is currently trying to regain the positions it had lost before.
Their ultimate goal is a breakthrough in the direction of Oskol, Kharkiv region. However, the price of "capturing" the small village of Krokhmalne, already crushed by Russia, is hundreds of lives of the Russian military. In addition, occupying a section of the front is not the same as holding it, - notes the military man.
In this direction, the actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are directed by one of the best Ukrainian generals - Oleksandr Syrskyi, who is supported by strong fighters.
If they believed that it was not advisable to hold this shade, therefore it was decided to withdraw the defense forces. Most likely, this is a planned withdrawal and it was calculated, Tymochko emphasized.
