Russian forces may launch a concerted push on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky has warned, as the weeks wind down towards an anticipated Russian summer offensive from as early as next month.
"Kharkiv is one of the capitals of Ukraine, so it has great symbolic meaning," Zelensky told German newspaper Bild in an interview published on Wednesday. Ukraine is "doing everything we can" to prevent Russian forces sweeping in and seizing control of the second-largest city in the country, the Ukrainian president added.
In the initial months of the full-scale Russian invasion, Moscow's troops swept through the Kharkiv region before a lightning Ukrainian offensive in the fall of 2022 rolled back Russia's grip in northeastern Ukraine. In the long months of war since, the east of the Kharkiv region has remained on the frontlines of fighting, often under bombardment.
Ukrainian officials and Western analysts warned earlier this year that Russian forces could mount an offensive along several points of the front line, including the section from the Kharkiv city of Kupiansk, which Ukraine reclaimed in September 2022, down west of the Russian-controlled cities of Svatove and Kreminna.
In later comments, Ukraine's Zelensky said that Russia could start a summer offensive as early as late May, adding: "We will prepare for their assault."
"A Russian ground operation against Kharkiv in the very near future is unlikely, but Russian efforts to create strategic reserves and reposition forces in the theater could allow Russian forces to launch an offensive toward the city in the summer," the independent U.S. think tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on Wednesday.
The looming threat of a Russian offensive leveled at Kharkiv or the city of Sumy, also in northeastern Ukraine and on the border with Russia, is likely forcing Ukraine to reallocate limited resources to building up new fortifications around the areas, the ISW said.
On Tuesday, Zelensky's office said the Ukrainian leader had "reviewed the process of building defensive structures and fortifications near the border" with Russia during a visit to the Kharkiv region.
Describing this as a very important region, Zelensky added: "We have to be prepared. And Russians must see that we are ready to defend ourselves."
Oleh Syniehubov, the head of Kharkiv's regional military administration, said these fortifications include dragon's teeth anti-tank defenses, new trenches and dugouts, according to the Ukrainian presidential readout.
However, Russia can still launch an offensive along any stretch of the front line, the ISW think tank added, which "will continue to strain Ukraine's already-stretched resources, regardless of any one operation's success in actually seizing a targeted city or settlement."
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Ellie Cook is a Newsweek security and defense reporter based in London, U.K. Her work focuses largely on the Russia-Ukraine ... Read more
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