Kiviselg: Russians' actions do not indicate intention to invade Kharkiv City
The Russian forces' offensive in Kharkiv oblast indicates the creation of a buffer zone, not an intention to attack Kharkiv City in order to take it, said Col. Ants Kiviselg, head of the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) Intelligence Center.
Kiviselg said that battle continued along the entire front, with approximately 140 attacks every day. The majority of action is focused north and east of the front in the oblasts of Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk.
"Although the pace of operations is slowing down and the enemy's actions indicate an intention to establish a buffer zone, the armed forces of the Russian Federation have continued to promote the newly opened offensive line in Kharkiv. To achieve this, the Russian Federation's armed forces have attacked and destroyed key bridges in the Vovchansk region to create natural obstacles between themselves and the Ukrainian armed forces," Kiviselg said.
"This signals the area's fortification rather than the creation of a beachhead for a further assault on Kharkiv," he said.
Kiviselg said that Russian units were able to penetrate to a depth of up to eight kilometers, within the range of Russian artillery fire. As a result, Ukraine has not been able to establish a defense system closer than 10 to 20 kilometers and important defense points closer than three to five kilometers from the border.
"The north of Kharkiv City operation direction still aims to stop the Ukrainian reserve forces from moving forward and to support the offensive from the Donetsk direction," he said.
"The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have about 2,000 people engaged in direct combat in the direction of Kharkiv, in addition to 1,500 to 2,000 reserve troops. There are up to 35,000 Russian troops in the entire region, and this number is likely to increase in the near future. But it is unlikely that Russia would concentrate 300,000 troops in the region, which, according to various estimates, is the minimum military force needed to take Kharkiv," Kiviselg said.
Kiviselg said that in other areas, the Russian Federation Armed Forces are continuing the offensive at the same pace, expanding the controlled territory with small tactical advances. The Pokrovsk offensive around Ocheretyne and the pressure on Chasiv Yar are the main foci of fighting.
In the southern part of the front, in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast, fighting continues in Robotyne village, but the Ukrainian defense there remains intact. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have also maintained the bridgehead over the Dnieper River.
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Editor: Aleksander Krjukov, Kristina Kersa
