Last Friday, Russian troops began a lightning offensive north of Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, which has so far resulted in the conquest of seven villages. The invader threatens to continue its advance towards the second largest Ukrainian city and the high command of the Army has relieved the commander in charge of the defense of the province. The Ukrainian media RBC and Liga Net reported that Brigadier General Mijaílo Drapatii replaced Brigadier General Yuri Galushkin in office on May 11.
There has been no official communication about the reasons for the relief of Galushkin, who had only been in the position of head of the Kharkov Operational and Tactical Group for only a month. Drapatii is one of the officers closest to the new commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksander Sirski. He wrote on social media on Sunday some words that have now been interpreted as a warning of the change that occurred on May 11: “To reinforce the defenses, all necessary measures and decisions will be quickly implemented, including personnel decisions.”
Andri Yusov, spokesman for the intelligence services of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense (GUR), assured this weekend that the Russian offensive in this sector had been expected for a long time and that the Armed Forces are prepared to contain the enemy. Since the beginning of May, alarms have been raised by the Ukrainian military leadership about an imminent attack from the Russian province of Belgorod. But the truth is that in the last 48 hours there has also been criticism from the army itself about the lack of fortifications on the border to stop the invader.
One of the most prominent voices that have criticized the possible lack of preparation has been that of Denis Yaroslavskii, commander of a reconnaissance company of the Army. “Urban fighting in Vovchansk has started, the city is surrounded, I am going to say this in case we die and no one knows the truth of why all this is happening,” Yaroslavskii wrote on social media on Sunday. “For two years [los que ha durado la invasión rusa] Concrete fortifications of at least three levels were supposed to have been built on the border, and they were not. And there weren’t even mines,” this officer explained, and concluded that “either it was a robbery [de fondos para construir las defensas] or deliberate sabotage.”
Vovchansk is the main municipality in this sector of the border between the Ukrainian province of Kharkiv and the Russian province of Belgorod. For Russia it would be a relevant capture because in its urban area its assault troops could concentrate more safely heading south. Kharkiv is located 25 kilometers from the new territory conquered by the Russian army. The GUR estimates that Moscow has allocated 40,000 soldiers to this offensive, still insufficient to attempt a siege on a large metropolis like Kharkiv. The Kiev Armed Forces are currently ruling out a large-scale offensive in this sector, for which it would be necessary to have at least 100,000 soldiers, according to Ukrainian Colonel Petro Chernik on May 8 on Espreso television.
kyiv reinforcements
Join Morning Express to follow all the news and read without limits.
Subscribe
Analysts such as the American Institute for the Study of War have assessed that this new front opened by Russia seeks above all to force kyiv to allocate reinforcements there, weakening its defenses in other sectors of the war. The high command of the Ukrainian Army has specified that the enemy primarily seeks to weaken its forces in the Donetsk province.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry confirmed on Friday that military units in the reserve would be assigned to the defense in the north of Kharkiv. Brigade battalions until now fighting in the Battle of Chasiv Yar, in Donetsk, have also been transferred to the new front. Rybar, a Russian conflict analysis group, highlighted on Sunday that the Armed Forces “have regained their composure and are trying to raise defenses.” At the end of 2023, Ukraine began an ambitious plan to build new lines of fortifications and trenches along the front to contain the invader’s superiority. These were also built in the Kharkiv territory bordering Belgorod.
The governor of Kharkiv province, Oleg Sinegubov, explained this Monday that the Russian strategy is to maximize the gray zone, as the area that is not controlled by any of the contenders is called in a war, through assaults with fast infantry units. , artillery fire and constant aviation attacks.
Follow all the international information onFacebook andxor inour weekly newsletter.
.
.
_
