Russian Army Launches Armed Ground Offensive in Kharkiv Region of Ukraine: Latest Updates

The Russian army launched an armed ground offensive in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine in an attempt to establish a buffer zone.

According to reports from Reuters and Agence France-Presse, senior Ukrainian military sources said the Russian army launched a ground offensive against Kharkiv early on Friday (May 10) and attacked the border town of Wolfschank ( Vovchansk) advanced one kilometer.

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine said that the Russian army tried to break through the Ukrainian defense line “under the cover of military vehicles” around 5 in the morning that day. “So far, these attacks have been repelled; a different fight ensues.

Sources said that the aim of the Russian army is to push the Ukrainian troops back to a point as far as 10 kilometers from the Russian border, and that the Ukrainian side is holding back the enemy troops.

Ukrainian military officials said that the Russian army was trying to establish a buffer zone in the Kharkiv region to prevent the Ukrainian army from burning Russian territory.

In March of this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for the establishment of a buffer zone inside Ukraine to protect Russia from shells and border attacks. Kharkiv Oblast borders Russia, so the local power infrastructure has become a target for Russian airstrikes.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a press conference in Kiev on Friday that the Ukrainian military was ready to respond to an attack. He also indicated that Moscow may send more military forces to the region.

Local Ukrainian officials said that Wolfschank was hit by large shells and that people in the area and surrounding areas were evacuated. Wolfschanck’s population of 17,000 before the war has now dropped to a few thousand.

Reuters reported that Russian bombing has killed two people and injured five others in the Kharkiv region.

At the end of 2022, the Ukrainian army pushed back the Russian troops from most areas of Kharkiv Oblast, but the Russian troops are now back. Kiev has been short of weapons recently, and the advantage of the Russian army on the battlefield continues to expand.

As one of Ukraine’s strong allies, the United States recently passed a US$95 billion (about S$128.6 billion) foreign aid plan that was delayed for several months in an effort to speed up the normal to support the resumption of Ukraine.

The United States is preparing a $400 million military aid package for Ukraine that includes artillery, surface-to-air missile system (NASAMS) weapons, anti-tank weapons, armored vehicles and deployable equipment immediately, a US official told Reuters on Friday.

The Russian Defense Ministry said earlier that Russian troops had captured at least two towns in the Kharkiv region this week.

Russian officials based in Kharkiv Oblast said on Telegram that fighting was taking place in several places along the line of contact, including border areas.