KYIV: President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday extolled the progress made by Russia in Kharkiv and recapturing a symbolic town further to south which had been one of the few victories obtained by Ukraine during its weak counteroffensive last year.
It was with this backdrop that Moscow’s assertions came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced new military aid during his visit to Kyiv earlier today, saying he hadn’t precisely ruled out Ukraine using Western weapons to launch strikes against Russian targets.
The recent Russian advances on two fronts underscored how Ukrainian military is being crippled due to acute ammunitions and manpower shortages making it possible for Kremlin’s troops to eat into Ukraine’s territory.
“In all directions our troops are constantly, every day, improving their positions,” Putin said in a televised meeting with his country’s military leaders including new Defence Minister Andrei Belousov.
Kyiv said President Volodymyr Zelensky has put off planned foreign trips over the fresh offensive, while more soldiers were moving into Kharkiv from other areas to stop the Russians advancing further.
However, Russian defence ministry claims only handfuls of villages have been captured in Kharkov region which is home to second largest city of the country but Glyboke and Lukyantsi were added on Wednesday.
Also, it reported regaining control of southern Ukrainian village Robotyne one among several settlements Kyiv took back at great cost during a summer counteroffensive last year.
Zelensky visited the village in February and hailed its taking back as key victory within otherwise troubled operation; later on Wednesday he claimed that Ukrainian forces “partially stabilized” the front near Kharkiv.
Fighting extremely difficult
Last week Moscow began an unexpected massive ground assault on Kharkov as it seeks to advance across battlefield with Kyiv lacking armament and human resources.
Ukrainian emergency services confirm that around 8,000 people have been evacuated from Kharkiv region due to danger of being caught in crossfire.
Military spokesman said on state television earlier today that Kyiv withdrew troops including near Lukyantsi citing overwhelming Russian onslaughts and the need to save soldiers’ lives.
Vovchansk authorities also talked about street-to-street fighting as another attacked town with an estimated population of 20,000 before the war.
Police chief Oleksiy Kharkivsky wrote on social media: “We are here and are evacuating people and helping them. The situation in Vovchansk is extremely difficult.”
The interior ministry disclosed that three civilians have died within last twenty-four hours in Kharkiv region while at least three others perished in separate attacks upon Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
Local authorities reported that 19 persons received injuries from Russian shelling in the southern frontline Kherson region.
Through its office Zelensky’s postponing scheduled trips reiterated its deployment of additional forces to stop Russia from breaking through.
He was planning a trip to Spain later this week.
Difficult fighting eastward
Some military analysts argue that Moscow could be seeking to divert Ukraine’s troops away from other areas along front line like around the strategic town of Chasiv Yar. In Donetsk region, where Russia has similarly made advances.
Zelensky claimed: “The invader is clearly doing his best to distract our forces and make the fighting less dense.” He was referring to the Donetsk region and Kharkiv further south on Wednesday.
Blinken’s visit follows last month’s approval of a $61bn financial aid package for Ukraine by the US Congress after a protracted fight, which gave Ukrainian defenders much needed weapons.
“We are making available $2 billion out of our overall assistance package,” Washington’s top diplomat revealed.
He also seemed to silently allow Ukraine to use Western weapons in hitting Russia.
We have not supported or encouraged attacks beyond Ukraine but at the end Ukraine has got to decide how it wants to prosecute this war,” Blinken said.
Some Ukrainians were enraged when Blinken played guitar in a Kyiv bar on Tuesday night, accusing him of indulging in jam sessions while their soldiers are at the frontline fending off an advancing Russian army without arms.
But Ukrainian authorities said that more than 30,000 Russian military personnel had been moved into the north-eastern area and that Kharkiv, which is the second largest city in Ukraine, remained beyond reach of their forces.
