Some people think that the latest ground offensive by Russian Federation forces in the Northeastern Ukrainian Kharkov Oblast is nothing but a distraction.
It would be designed to drag defenders away from the vital Donetsk theater of operations, where Moscow has made steady, meaningful gains ever since the conquest of the key city of Avdeevka.
The main Russian objective in this war, it may be reminded, is the conquest of the Donbas regions, Luhansk – almost entirely conquered – and Donetsk, where the main fighting now is raging around Chasov Yar and other directions.
But other well-informed people, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, think that the Kharkov offensive is for real, and may develop in successive deadly waves of attack.
The truth may be that it is both of them, in the sense that Russian Federation forces have designed a style of fighting that is very flexible, and can exploit Ukrainian weaknesses wherever they may appear.
Artillery pounding Chasov Yar and Volchansk. Two battles: one in Donetsk, one in Kharkov. After the conquest of these two cities, the Russian advances are expected to pick up dramatically pic.twitter.com/3LZETbUzrD
— Paul Serran (@paul_serran) May 18, 2024
Because of the scandal involving the lack of defensive structures in Kharkov, and with the revelation that oligarchs stole a fortune that should have been used to build them, Zelensky went to Kharkov to ‘inspect’ them.
During the visit, he said reinforcements were flocking to the country’s north to defend this strategic city.
Europe 1 reports that this is ‘the perfect plan for Russia’ and its 35,000 to 50,000 soldiers flocking to Kharkov, a very strategic city for Kiev.
“Ultimately, the trap set by the Russians seems to be working, because Moscow’s objective is to force the Ukrainians to move troops towards the north. This maneuver could then allow the Russians to open breaches in the south and complete the conquest of the entire regions of Donbas.
At the same time, the Ukrainian army is struggling to line up 250,000 men on the front line. ‘In all the brigades, there is a 40% shortage of personnel’, underlines a French military source to Europe 1. ‘We are facing a wave of desertion among young conscripts’, confirms a Ukrainian officer. ‘In Kiev, they no longer talk to us about armaments but about recruitment problems’, continues a French soldier returning from the front after an observation mission.”
Europe 1’s sources state that ‘Western chancelleries are preparing coordinated diplomatic action to convince Volodymyr Zelensky to accept the principle of negotiations’.
Zelensky has been seen “inspecting” trenches near Kharkov.
He was previously seen “inspecting” impregnable defences near Bakhmut and Avdeevka.
I’ll leave it there. pic.twitter.com/AMyq2QhUFu
— Chay Bowes (@BowesChay) April 10, 2024
WaPo writes about the fact that, while Russia’s new offensive across Ukraine’s northeastern border was expected for months but still surprised the Ukrainian defenders.
Reconnaissance drones monitored Moscow’s was build-up of forces, but the morning the attack happened, all their video feeds were disrupted by Russian electronic jamming.
Starlink devices failed for the first time since the start of the war. They were completely blind.
Washington Post reported:
“Begrudgingly, Ukrainian troops admit that their enemy has gotten smarter and adapted, especially with technological advancements such as electronic warfare — a sharp contrast with the first year of the invasion, when Russia’s own blunders and overconfidence allowed the Ukrainians to hold key cities and later liberate large swaths of territory in successful counteroffensives.”
Russian troops inside Volchansk.
WaPo allows itself to wonder out loud if Russia may soon overpower Ukraine’s forces and seize more territory.
Ukrainian troops say that “every time the units stationed here tried to build fortified lines, the Russians — using their own reconnaissance drones — would monitor their activity and fire on them.”
Watch: Russian artillery pounds Ukrainian equipment trying to excavate defensive trenches.
Ukraine is having slight issues building their border fortifications in Kharkov. Something keeps going wrong–I wonder what it could be? pic.twitter.com/BV6MzUdUcl
— SIMPLICIUS Ѱ (@simpatico771) April 24, 2024
Groups of Russian infantry attack in waves.
“The Russians also drop glide bombs, sometimes weighing half a ton, every 15 to 20 minutes, said the commander of a reconnaissance unit in Khartia whom The Post is identifying by his call sign, Navigator. Unlike missiles, the bombs themselves can’t be intercepted by air defense once they’re dropped from Russian aircraft. This is one reason Ukrainians have pleaded for F-16 fighters, which would be able to challenge the encroaching bombers.”
Ukrainian defenders must constantly change their positions, and before an attack, a Russian drone with electronic warfare capabilities will fly over the area to disrupt communications.
Watch: Ukrainian air-defense warehouse in Kharkov
Destruction of an Ukrainian air-defense warehouse in Kharkov pic.twitter.com/rh7ZWJ9kv2
— What the media hides. (@narrative_hole) May 16, 2024
Sputnik reported:
“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the advance of Russian troops in the Kharkov Region as ‘only the first step’ in a new offensive in an interview with Agence France-Presse, admitting that the Kiev regime lacks air defense systems and needs more military personnel.
The new offensive of the Russian army, which began in the Kharkov region, may consist of several waves, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky told Western media.
Zelensky said that in the Kharkov region, where the Russian Armed Forces went on the offensive in early May, ‘there was the first wave’. He called the situation there ‘controlled, but not stabilized’.
He also admitted that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have problems with ‘morale’ amid a shortage of weapons and soldiers.”
Watch: Russian troops take Kotlyarovka, Kharkov region.
Intel Republic:
ANOTHER VILLAGE FALLS TO RUSSIA – Valiant troops take Kotlyarovka, Kharkov region (Eastern Ukraine.)
Units of the Russian 47th Tank Division break through several lines of defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kotlyarovka, adjacent to Kislovka, towards… pic.twitter.com/7y1zAe9w5m
— SIMPLICIUS Ѱ (@simpatico771) May 4, 2024
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