The Ukrainian forces are “in difficulty”, according to the governor of Kharkiv, a crucial city in eastern Ukraine where Russian forces began a vast offensive on Friday May 10. The Ukrainian general staff still admits “tactical successes” for the Kremlin and in a few days thousands of civilians had to be evacuated from the area. The epicenter of the fighting nevertheless appears to be the small town of Vovchansk, located almost on the border.
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With our special correspondent in the Kharkiv region, Stéphane Siohan
The city of Vovchansk in Ukraine, which we were able to approach yesterday at 5 km, seems massively destroyed. THE Russians applied the scorched earth policy and there is not a single building left intact in the center, confided the director of the regional police who was returning from evacuation operations. According to a very provisional assessment, but which will certainly be more significant, at least seven people died in the Russian attack on the city and now, more than 4,000 civilians have fled the combat zone.
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Towards the fall of the city
Vovchansk is untenable for Ukrainians. It will undoubtedly fall, because it is outside the main fortification lines which have been erected in recent months. What is dangerous is that the Russians want to push their advantage: not only create a buffer zone of a few kilometers along the border, but also regain control of sectors of the Kharkiv region further inland, which they controlled in 2022. They would then not need to storm the city of Kharkiv, which is very well defended.
The Russian army could be content to keep it within range of artillery guns, to bombard it regularly, causing a new mass exodus. Moreover, Saltivka, the northern district of the city which was badly disfigured in 2022, is now empty, we see tanks, military equipment and soldiers who are really on edge.
After a day of reporting in the Kharkiv region and in #Kharkiv, feeling very nervous. In the northern districts. Soldiers everywhere, armored vehicles hidden, pick-ups flying here and there…
— Stéphane Siohan (@stefsiohan) May 12, 2024
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