Russia's failed Kharkiv offensive signals a tense new phase in Ukraine war

The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine announced an attempt by Russian troops to break through the defence lines in the north of the Kharkiv region, stating that all enemy attacks have been repelled so far.

On Friday morning, numerous Russian and Ukrainian military sources reported an attempt by Russian troops to launch an offensive from the Belgorod region into the border villages in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. For weeks, there has been speculation that the Russians aim to capture the capital of this region.

"In Kharkiv: the Russian army launched an offensive from the border," wrote Russian propagandist "Colonel Cassad".

"This morning saw active missile, artillery, and bomb attacks on targets in Kharkiv and the region. Increased activity of Russian Armed Forces' land units in the border area towards the city of Volchansk in the Kharkiv region was also reported," informed the Russian Telegram channel "Military Informer," quoted by the Russian edition of the BBC.

The medium adds that the situation on the border between the Belgorod and Kharkiv regions "has drastically worsened".

As reported by the Ukrainian analytical portal DeepState, the offensive started at night in two areas: towards Kharkiv itself and in the area of four border villages: Pilna, Borysiwka, Strilecha, and Krasne.

The towns are located in the red zone.

Analysts believe the Russian army does not have enough soldiers to mount a significant attack, "but it is unknown how many main forces are ready to be deployed for this manoeuvre."

The escalation at the border was confirmed on Friday afternoon by the head of the Kharkiv regional administration, Oleg Sinegubov, who announced "an intensification of Russian shelling in the northern part of the region and unsuccessful attempts to breach the border by sabotage and reconnaissance groups."

- The Armed Forces of Ukraine confidently held their ground: not one metre was lost. The enemy group does not threaten Kharkiv; its forces are only sufficient for provocation in the northern direction," said Sinegubov.

Then, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine commented. As reported, in the last 24 hours, the enemy conducted airstrikes using guided bombs towards Volchansk.

"Around 5 a.m. Greenwich Time, the enemy attempted to break through our defence line under the cover of armoured vehicles. Currently, these attacks have been repelled, and fights of varying intensity continue," reads the statement.

According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, reserve units have been deployed to strengthen the defence at this section of the front.

The head of the Volchansk community council, Tamaz Hambaraszwili, informed Hromadske radio that due to the drastically increased Russian shelling, authorities had initiated the urgent and voluntary evacuation of residents of Volchansk and its surroundings.

Hambaraszwili mentioned that the city of Volchansk currently has about 3,000 residents. (Before the war, the population was around 17,000.)

"Now the city is under heavy shelling. As locals report, they have never heard or seen anything like this before. The entire settlement, the whole city, is undergoing massive shelling. Thus, staying there now is perilous," said Hambaraszwili.

Military expert Mikhail Zhirokhov commented on the events in the Kharkiv region. "Most likely, everything that has been talked about in recent weeks has started – the attack on the Kharkiv region," he wrote on Facebook.

The head of the Center for Combating Disinformation of the National Security and Defence Council, Andriy Kovalenko, noted that such activation of the Russians in the Kharkiv region "was predictable, but it is not a serious attack on Kharkiv."

Reuters - referring to an anonymous Ukrainian military source - also reports plans by the Russian army to create a buffer zone that will extend about 10 kilometres into the region.