War in Ukraine: a land offensive launched in the Kharkiv region by Russia which wants to create “a buffer zone”

Des bombardements massifs dans la région de Karkhiv. MAXPPP – Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy

La Russie a lancé vendredi une offensive terrestre dans la région de Kharkiv (nord-est) et tenté de "percer les lignes de défense" ukrainiennes, a annoncé le ministère de la Défense ukrainien, affirmant que des combats se poursuivaient.

Russia, which has just launched a ground offensive in the Kharkiv border region, is seeking to create a "buffer zone" to prevent Ukraine from striking the Russian region of Belgorod, which is very regularly targeted, a source within the Ukrainian military command said on Friday.

Evacuations were also launched in Vovchansk, where around 3,000 people live, and in neighboring towns in the Kharkiv region, due to "massive bombings& ;quot;, said Tamaz Gambarachvili, head of the local military administration

"Over the past day, the enemy carried out airstrikes in the Vovchansk sector", bordering the Russian region of Belgorod, with guided aerial bombs, indicated the Ministry of Defense.

"Around 5 a.m., the enemy attempted to break through our defense lines using vehicles armored", added this same source, without clarifying the exact location of this attack.

The ministry assured that these attacks had been "repulsed" but that "fights of various intensities" continued and that "reserve units" had been deployed to "strengthen the defense" of the area.

A large part of the Kharkiv region was occupied and then liberated in 2022. The border region and its capital of the same name, the country's second city, were very often bombed in recent months.

The Ukrainian army is struggling

Ukraine has been worried for several weeks about a potential new Russian offensive in the area. Moscow's forces have sunk a kilometer into Ukrainian territory and are trying to advance further, declared, at the same time, a high-ranking source in the Ukrainian military command.

The Ukrainian army is struggling on the front, weakened by a lack of recruits and delays in the delivery of Western aid, which have notably emptied its ammunition stocks.

Opposite, Russian forces have claimed limited territorial gains, mainly in the east, without however achieving a real breakthrough..