(Dan Tri) – Kiev’s military intelligence director warned that the war situation is `on the brink` as Russia continues to gain control of territories in Ukraine.
Ukrainian soldiers exercise in Donetsk (Photo: Reuters).
In an interview with the New York Times on May 13, Ukrainian military intelligence director Kirill Budanov warned that the precarious situation on the battlefield for Ukrainian forces will become worse in the near future.
Russia has taken control of many villages in the north of the Kharkiv region, Ukraine’s second largest city, after launching an offensive last week.
According to Mr. Budanov, the clear purpose of these attacks is to erode Ukraine’s reserves.
`The situation is reaching the brink. Every hour the situation turns more critical,` the Ukrainian military official said.
Mr. Budanov believes that Kiev will be able to stabilize the situation, but Russia’s next move will be a similar attack on the Sumy region, 150km northwest of Kharkov.
Ukraine’s military leadership acknowledged Russia’s `tactical successes` in the region, and said it was deploying Ukrainian reserves in response.
Denis Yaroslavsky, a Ukrainian commander operating in the area, wrote on social networks: `The first line of fortifications and mines no longer exist.`
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Russian army has taken control of nine villages since launching an attack on Kharkov on May 10.
Location of Kharkiv region (Kharkiv) on the map (Photo: US Department of Defense).
In an interview with AFP on May 13, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Lytvynenko said that Russia is using 30,000 of the 50,000 soldiers gathered at the border to attack Kharkov.
`Russia is trying to stretch the front line, attacking with small groups but in new directions. The situation is extremely difficult,` Kharkov Governor Oleh Syniehubov also said.
CNN also gave a serious assessment of the situation on the battlefield on May 13, stating that Russia `is said to have made its fastest progress since the first days of the war.`
`This is a nightmare for Kiev for two reasons: first, they reclaimed this land from Russian forces 18 months ago, but clearly failed to fortify the area to stop Moscow
`Second, Russia could once again squeeze Ukraine’s stretched military forces by applying constant and increasing pressure on the Kharkiv region, inflicting damage through intense shelling of a central
According to Bloomberg, Kiev has begun deploying more troops to stabilize the northeastern front line, noting that Russia’s offensive may have stretched Ukraine’s already under-armed and outnumbered forces, and
In the context of an unstable battlefield, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kiev on May 15 with a message that US officials called a `reassuring signal`.
