The Russian military (9) announced on Friday that it has sent reinforcements to Ukraine’s Kharkov region in response to an apparently successful advance by Kyiv forces in this border area with Russia.
Ukrainian authorities said on Thursday that they had recaptured about 700 km2 in the past few days in addition to twenty towns in the northeastern region, particularly in the city of Balaklia.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that the deployment of Russian reinforcements shows Moscow has paid a “high price” for the invasion of Ukraine launched more than six months ago.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced a mobilization of forces in this area and released a video showing a large number of military trucks carrying artillery and armored vehicles.
Russian occupation administration official Vitali Ganchov spoke on state television of “violent clashes” around the city of Balaklia.
“We no longer control Balaklia. We are trying to disperse the Ukrainian forces, but the fighting is intense and our troops are staying on the outskirts,” he said.
“Get Over the Defense”
According to Ganchov, clashes are also taking place near Shevchenkove, which is in the same region as Kharkiv. “Here, the Ukrainian armed forces are also trying to break through the defense. Reinforcements have been sent from Russia, our troops are reacting,” he said.
AFP reported that the southeast highway connecting Kharkiv to Balaklia was open to traffic on Friday morning. This is an area that the Ukrainian army has recaptured after fighting in recent days.
Kharkiv, the capital of the homonymous region and the second city in Ukraine (after the capital Kiev), is very close to the Russian border and has been at the forefront since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24.
In addition to advancing into the territory, Kyiv claimed a series of reconquests in the east and south, and several territories were recaptured. If approved, they will be the most important for Ukraine since the withdrawal of Russian troops from the outskirts of Kiev at the end of March.
In the Donbass basin (east), where the most intense fighting has taken place in recent months, Kyiv announced on Thursday that it had advanced 2 to 3 kilometers towards Kramatorsk and Sloviansk and recaptured the village of Ozerne.
NATO unit
Eight civilians were killed and 17 injured in Russian bomb attacks on Thursday in Bajmut, 45km north.
“Twenty houses, six buildings, four shops, the House of Culture and the administrative center were damaged,” said regional governor Pavlo Kirilenko. said.
He added that the city market was also “under fire” from Russian artillery.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin lauded Ukraine’s recent achievements, noting that recent Western arms deliveries have “changed the dynamics on the battlefield”.
“We’re seeing victories in Kherson, in Kharkiv, and it’s all very encouraging,” Austin said in Prague.
Blinken traveled to Brussels to attend a NATO meeting to strengthen the “unity” of its members to “ensure our alliance is strong enough to deter Russia from further aggression.”
source: Noticias
