After more than two years of chronic war without major progress, in recent days Russian troops have made progress in northern Ukraine that has brought them closer to Kharkiv, the country’s second largest city. The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, General Kirilo Budanov, has described the moment as “critical.”
The situation is so delicate for Ukraine that the Government of Volodymyr Zelensky recognized this Wednesday that it has been forced to withdraw the army from some of the positions which he defended in the border area of the northern region to avoid casualties. They have come to occupy new positions to better defend itself from the Russian offensive, which has Kharkiv in its sights, and increasingly closer.
“As a result of the fire and assault actions of the enemy, and to save the lives of our soldiers and avoid losses “They have moved to more advantageous positions.” to defend the Russian advance towards the city of Kharkiv, the spokesman for the Ukrainian General Staff Dmitro Likhoví announced on television.
Russia announced this Wednesday that it has managed to take control of two towns in the Kharkiv region, although it has not specified which ones they are.
In his daily report on the war, the Institute for the Study of War He assures that the advance of Russian troops has slowed down in the last 24 hours, despite the fact that recent progress is significant.
Another symptom of the critical situation that Ukraine is experiencing is the suspension of the trip to Spain that Zelensky had planned for this Friday. The Ukrainian president canceled his planned visit to Madrid late on Tuesday due to recent Russian advances, although he has not officially confirmed the reason.
[Zelenski cancela su visita a España prevista para este viernes por el avance ruso en el norte de Ucrania]
Retreats
According to Lijoví, the withdrawal has taken place in the districts of Lukiantsi and Vovchanskeach of them located on one of the two axes along which Russia attacks in the north of the Kharkiv region.
The Ukrainian General Staff already announced on Tuesday a change of positions of its troops in Lukiantsi due to Russian pressure.
As for Vovchansk, the most important town in the border area, Ukraine has reported fighting north of the municipality, which Russian forces are still trying to conquer.
The spokesman for the kyiv General Staff explained that Ukraine carries out “counterattack actions” in the north of Kharkivwhere “the enemy is under constant fire from our artillery and drones of the Ukrainian armed forces.”
In addition to squeeze In the Kharkov region, Russia continues to launch attacks on the fronts of Kramatorsk and Pokrovskin the eastern region of Donetsk, where Russia has been gaining ground for months.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Russia has opened the new front in Kharkiv to disperse Ukrainian troops and take advantage of the situation to redouble pressure on other fronts. Zelensky has canceled without giving reasons the trip to Spain that he had planned for this Friday. The decision could be due to the situation in Kharkiv.
Today’s Russian casualty report issued by the Ukrainian General Staff speaks of more than 1,500 Russian soldiers killed and wounded throughout the front, a figure significantly higher than those that used to be recorded before the opening of this new front, when Russian casualties They rarely exceeded 1,300 daily.
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