Väli explained on the "Ukraina stuudio" talk show that the fiercest battles in Ukraine are currently taking place in the Chasiv Yar area. Battles are also ongoing in the Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, but neither side has made significant progress there.

According to Väli, Russian forces have run out of steam in the Kharkiv region. "As of today, the latest offensive in Kharkiv has fizzled out, their strength is depleted. The casualties on the Russian side have been enormous, with more than 1,000 wounded and killed per day. This shows the typical disregard for human life seen in Russia. The momentum in Kharkiv has ended," he said.

Väli assessed that Russia had several goals in its offensive towards Kharkiv, but none were achieved.

"One goal was certainly to create a buffer zone to protect Belgorod on Russian territory from Ukrainian attacks. This failed because the incursion pockets they created on Ukrainian territory are not connected. Another goal was to get close enough to Kharkiv to target it with more weapons systems. This also was not achieved. Additionally, they aimed to tie up Ukrainian forces, causing problems for Ukraine in maintaining reserves and perhaps even taking the initiative in some front sectors. This, too, was unsuccessful. In my opinion, none of the theoretical objectives Russia might have had with this offensive were achieved," Väli explained.

He noted that if Russian forces want to resume or expand their attack on Kharkiv, they will need to bring in more reserves.

"The units currently there will need to be replaced, more equipment brought in, and then maybe something can be done again. But for now, Ukrainians have successfully thwarted this attack. In my assessment, Russia has not achieved any of its planned objectives. The result has been enormous losses in both equipment and manpower for the Russian side," he said.

"Clearly, one major reason for this outcome is that they launched the attack very early, without concentrating enough troops, hoping to catch the Ukrainians off guard. The actual result has been quite the opposite – because there weren't enough reserves, the offensive lost momentum before any serious objectives could be achieved," he added.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!