Ukraine's top commander warned this Friday (17) of “heavy battles” approaching on the new war front in the Kharkiv region, northeast of the country, while Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was creating a “ protection zone” in the area.
Russian forces attacked the north of the Kharkiv region last Friday, making incursions of up to 10 kilometers and staggering Kiev's outnumbered troops trying to hold the line on a sprawling front, almost 27 months since the invasion. on a large scale.
Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi said the attack had expanded the area of hostilities by about 70 km and that Russia launched its incursion ahead of schedule when it “realized the positioning of our forces”.
“We understand that there will be heavy battles and that the enemy is preparing for this,” the head of the Ukrainian Armed Forces wrote on the Telegram app.
In a speech during a state visit to China, Putin said Moscow's forces were creating a “protection zone” to defend Russia's border regions, but that the capture of the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest, was not it was part of the current plan.
The Russian leader said at a press conference that the attack was a response to Kiev's bombing of Russian border regions such as Belgorod.
“Civilians are dying there. This is obvious. They are shooting directly in the city center, in residential areas. And I have said publicly that if this continues, we will be forced to create a safety zone, a protection zone. This is what we are doing,” declared Putin.
Russian forces managed to advance 10 kilometers in one location, but Ukrainian forces “stabilized” the front, President Volodymyr Zelensky told Ukrainian media in comments published on Friday.
Source: CNN Brasil
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