Russia launched a surprise counteroffensive in Kharkiv earlier this month and many military sources within the Russian army had boasted that they had captured the pivotal town of Vovchansk. However, Ukraine’s Defence Forces have now confirmed that Kyiv has regained control of 70 percent of the town, amid fierce ongoing street battles.
Ukraine’s Lieutenant Colonel Nazar Voloshyn said that Ukrainian counterattacks, along with effective artillery and drone strikes, were thwarting Russia’s efforts and putting them on the back foot. He described Russian tactics as defensive while Ukrainian forces were increasingly seizing the initiative.
The shock fightback has stunned Vladimir Putin’s forces and left the Kremlin leader furious. In response, the Russian president has called on his military to send thousands of more soldiers into the area.
The Institute for the Study of War said that a second Russian offensive in Kharkiv – after the first one stalled this month – was imminent.
On Thursday, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, confirmed that there was a growing build-up of Russian troops near Vovchansk but the numbers remained insufficient for a full-scale offensive or a breakthrough of Ukrainian defences on the Kharkiv front.
Colonel General Syrskyi said that Russian forces were redeploying their troops from other fronts and training grounds to the Strilecha-Lyptsi area, to the north of Kharkiv, and Vovchansk, to the northeast of Kharkiv.
Currently, there are around 38,000 Ukrainian soldiers deployed in and around Vovchansk, compared to approximately 14,000 Russian troops.
While Russia’s ground offensive has ground to a humiliating halt, Putin’s forces have turned to missiles.
Overnight, Russia launched five S-300/S-400 ballistic missiles into Kharkiv, smashing into an apartment block and killing at least four people. At least 25 people were injured during the attack on Ukraine’s second-largest city.
Also overnight, the Ukrainian navy struck an oil terminal at the Russian port of Kavkaz today using Western-supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS).
This morning, US President Joe Biden bowed to Ukrainian pressure and U-turned on a policy that will permit Ukraine to use US-provided weapons to strike within Russian territory near the border with Kharkiv Oblast.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky told The Guardian that President Biden’s delay in sanctioning the use of Western weapons against targets in Russia had meant Russia was able to “hunt” its people. He said that Ukraine needed to be allowed to use “powerful” long-range weapons that could hit targets inside deep Russian territory – a red line for the White House.
Mr Zelensky said: “Believe us, we have to respond. They don’t understand anything but force. We are not the first and not the last target.”
This morning, the German government also announced that it will permit Ukraine to use weapons supplied by Germany against military targets in Russia.
