Moscow’s forces have reduced the intensity of their offensive operations in the Kharkiv region, after conquering the least defended areas. According to a report from theInstitute for the study of war (Isw), “Russian troops are currently advanced no more than eight kilometers from the border, in the north of the oblast”. Analysts have also underlined how Vladimir Putin’s army has as a priority the creation of a buffer zone and not the advance in depth.
The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky he visited the front and received reports from military commanders. “The situation is generally under control and our soldiers are inflicting significant casualties on the occupier”, he wrote on Telegram. “We are strengthening our units”. According to think tank American, the tactical success for the invaders was determined by the fact that “they can easily launch artillery attacks against Ukrainian defensive positions near the border, and the ban on the use of Western weapons on Russian territory makes Ukrainian defense positions vulnerable”. In this regard, the ISW reported that the US Helsinki Commission urged the Biden administration not only to allow, but also to “to encourage” Kiev’s forces to carry out raids in the border regions of the Federation using the weapons supplied by the NATO-EU bloc.
According to think tank,”the Ukrainian operation to launch attacks against systems in the Russian Federation that directly support the Russian Federation’s offensive ground operations in the north of the Kharkiv region would actually be a defensive attempt and it would be inaccurate to characterize it as ‘offensive’”. ISW analysts also underlined how the restrictions imposed by the US have allowed Moscow’s army to exploit a “safe zone” along the border where to amass men and vehicles or launch bombs and missiles against Kiev’s defensive positions. “This US policy seriously undermines Ukraine’s ability to defend itself from Russian offensive operations in the north of the Kharkiv region”, added theInstitute in his report.
According to what was reported by PoliticHowever, the Washington administration’s position on this issue has not changed and this has led Vladimir Putin to minimize the possibility of counterattacks Ukrainians along the entire front line because, in his opinion, the country has been invaded”cannot and will not be able to liberate the territory conquered by Russian troops”. According to the ISW, however, the Russian president’s assessments misunderstand the tactical capabilities of the Kiev forces once the new military aid Americans will begin to arrive.
“It is imperative that Ukrainian forces are capable of leading vast counter-offensive operations that they will liberate the Russian-occupied territory as soon as conditions allow, otherwise Putin will likely continue to believe that he can continue the ongoing offensive operations indefinitely and force Ukraine to move into a defense strategy”, concluded the think tank.
