Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday said he expects Russia to step up its offensive in the northeast and warned that Kyiv only has one-quarter of the air defenses it needs to hold the front line.
Russian forces, which made only moderate advances in the past few months, launched a surprise assault in the Kharkiv region on Friday last week that has resulted in their biggest territorial gains in a year and a half.
Russian troops have advanced 5km to 10km along the northeastern border before being stopped by Ukrainian forces, but the region could be the “first wave” in a wider offensive, Zelenskiy said.
Photo: AFP
“I won’t say it’s a great success [for Russia], but we have to be sober and understand that they are going deeper into our territory,” he said, speaking from Kyiv in his first interview with foreign media since the offensive began.
Zelenskiy said the situation in the Kharkiv region has been “controlled,” but “not stabilized.”
He doubled down on pleas to allies to send more air defense and fighter jets to combat Russia’s air superiority as the war grinds through its third year.
“Today, we have about 25 percent of what we need to defend Ukraine. I’m talking about air defense,” he said.
Ukraine needs “120 to 130” F-16 jets or other advanced aircraft to achieve air “parity” with Russia, Zelenskiy said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a trip to China this week that the northeastern offensive was in retaliation for Ukraine’s shelling of border regions and that Moscow was trying to create a “security zone.”
Russian forces took 278km2 between Thursday last week and Wednesday, their biggest gains since the end of 2022, data from the Institute for the Study of War showed.
Kharkiv Governor Oleg Synegubov yesterday said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces of Ukraine armed forces had repelled two attempts to break through defenses overnight, with the situation “under control.”
Ukrainian officials have accused Russian soldiers in Vovchansk of capturing dozens of civilians to use as “human shields” to defend their command headquarters — a claim Agence France-Presse was unable to immediately verify.
“In the area of the city of Vovchansk, Ukrainian troops are reinforcing their defense to improve the tactical situation,” Synegubov said.
Ukraine has evacuated almost 10,000 people from the northeast border area since Russia launched the assault.
Putin said there was no intention at this stage to take Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, about 30km from the border.
More than 1 million people still live there.
Military analysts say the northeastern offensive could aim to further stretch Ukrainian troops and resources, with Russia pressing its force size and ammunition advantage.
Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief chief Oleksandr Syrsky said Russia was trying to force Ukraine to pull up even more troops from its reserves.
“We realize that there will be heavy fighting ahead and the enemy is preparing for it,” he said.
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