Volodymyr Zelenskyy answered a question about the risk of a ground offensive on Kharkiv. The President of Ukraine confirmed that the enemies want to attack.
Is there a risk of a ground attack by the Russian army on Kharkiv?
The Ukrainian leader said in an interview with AFP that the Russians want to advance. According to the president, the enemy understands that it is very difficult.
They understand that Kharkiv is very difficult, it is a big city and they understand that we have forces that will fight for a long time. That is, they need to throw great forces for this. Therefore, it is most important for them to withdraw our troops as much as possible from the East. I mean the East in our usual sense — it is Donbas,’ Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
According to him, the Russians understand that they can slowly push towards Kharkiv, while Kyiv will withdraw the troops. This is their main desire.
They're like a beast. If they feel weakness somewhere in this direction, they will press further. If they are stopped, they will not die by the millions for the sake of Kharkiv. In my opinion,’ the president explained.
The Ukrainian leader added that, in fact, Russia's entire Kharkiv operation boils down to an effort to weaken the Armed Forces of Ukraine in general on the front.
What is known about the Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region
On May 10, Russian troops launched a new offensive in the Kharkiv region, having managed to capture several border villages. To date, it has already been possible to evacuate almost 10,000 people from the border.
Just on 17 May, during his daily video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that by advancing in the Kharkiv direction, the Russian Federation is trying to weaken the forces of the Ukrainian army along the entire front. At the same time, he said that Ukraine needs two Patriots for a more effective defence of Kharkiv.
We shall remind you that on 16 May, Zielenskyy held a field meeting of the headquarters in Kharkiv. Given the difficult situation in the area, among other things, it was decided to reinforce the units of the Armed Forces.
