Russia's illegitimate president, Vladimir Putin, wanted to take advantage of the fact that the American Congress could not approve new aid to Ukraine for more than half a year, and seize Kharkiv.
Points of attention
- Russian President Putin planned to seize Kharkiv, taking advantage of the pause in US aid.
- The Ukrainian Defense Forces under the leadership of Zelensky defended their positions and stopped the advance of Russian troops in the Kharkiv region.
- Attacks by the Russian Federation on Kharkiv and other areas continue, but Ukrainian special forces are successfully striking enemy positions.
- Geolocation data testify to the counterattacks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kharkiv area, showing certain successes in deterring aggression.
- The situation in the Kharkiv region remains tense, but the state armed forces continue to protect civilians from the occupation.
What plans does Russia plan for Kharkiv?
The Russians beat the residents of Kharkiv every day because they "want to provoke chaos and force people to flee," President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute. According to the Ukrainian leader, this is Putin's goal.
...he had this information. He wanted to use this pause of more than half a year in Congress with this decision (to provide aid to Ukraine, — Ed.), so he wanted to quickly occupy Kharkiv, where one and a half million live now. Very close to the border..., said the leader of our country.
Zelenskyy added that during the Russian Federation's new offensive in the Kharkiv region, Kyiv lost some villages along the border but was able to take and save the residents.
You saw, he (Putin, — Ed.) does not care who to kill — a soldier, a person, a civilian. So we took people from these villages and he was not successful. Thank God, help and of course our soldiers, first of all our heroes, they stopped them. He lost a lot of people," the president added. The head of the Ukrainian state said that it was about thousands of occupiers. "For him, it was a very high price for this operation," Zelenskyy emphasised.
What is the situation in the Kharkiv region?
Defence forces of Ukraine advanced during tactical counterattacks north of Kharkiv on July 7.
Geolocation images released on July 6 show that the Ukrainian Armed Forces advanced northwest of Hlyboke, counterattacking in the area, and available satellite images from July 3-6 indicate that Ukrainian forces counterattacked in the area.
However, analysts note that Hlyboke's current status is unknown.
Russian "warriors" claimed that the Armed Forces regularly counterattacked near Hlyboky and that they were advancing near Hlyboky from the southwest.
Another blogger said that Ukrainian defenders are conducting raids near Lyptsi and Tykhe to identify vulnerabilities in Russian defence lines.
On July 6 and 7, Russian troops continued their attacks in the areas of Lyptsi and Hlyboki and in the area of Vovchansk and near Staretsa.
Russian so-called "war correspondents" claimed that Putin's troops allegedly recaptured positions on Korolenko and Sobornia streets in the centre of Vovchansk.
The National Guard of Ukraine reported that its special forces struck a Russian tactical command post and a small ammunition depot near Hlyboke.
