Russia intensifies attacks on Kharkiv for third day… Ukraine’s largest offensive since recapture
Ukraine unable to build defensive line against Russian forces
Intent to disperse forces on eastern front before full-scale US support
Russian defense minister replaced with economic official…Interpreted as ‘building economic foundation for long-term war’, ‘[Edaily Reporter Park Jong-hwa] Russian forces are launching a fierce attack on Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine. The Ukrainian forces are being overwhelmed.’,
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, ‘According to reports from New York Times (NYT) on the 12th (local time), Russian forces claimed to have captured four villages in Kharkiv on that day. Since the 10th, Russia has been carrying out air strikes and shelling in Ukraine. It is being evaluated as the strongest offensive since Ukraine recaptured Kharkiv in the summer of 2022. As a result, it was reported that Russia had occupied at least nine villages in the Kharkiv region. Halyna Suryna, a refugee, told NYT, “For the past three days, the Russian forces have been shelling us every 10 minutes.”‘,
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, ‘Kharkiv, located in northeastern Ukraine, is the second largest city in Ukraine after the capital Kyiv. Until the war, it had a population of over 1.4 million. It is considered a strategic point due to its proximity to Russia and the development of the defense industry.’,
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, ‘Despite its importance, the Ukrainian forces have not been able to properly defend against the Russian forces. Dmytro Yaroslavsky, the commander of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces, said, “There was no first line of defense,” and “The Russians just walked in (to Kharkiv). There were no minefields, and they just walked in,” he told BBC. BBC pointed out that the Ukrainian forces are struggling with a lack of troops and supplies, as well as the slow pace of building defensive lines. The intelligence analysis agency DeepState warned that the situation could worsen if Ukraine does not deploy more reserves to the Kharkiv region.’,
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, ‘Russia’s attack on Kharkiv is interpreted as laying out several strategic aims. The key goal is seen as dispersing the Ukrainian forces to Kharkiv in order to weaken the Ukrainian offensive in the eastern region, including Donetsk, which is under Russian occupation. Military expert Franz-Stefan Gady told the NYT, “Russia knows that Ukraine’s biggest weakness is its lack of troops,” suggesting an intention to launch a final offensive before full-scale US support is resumed to undermine the morale of Ukraine and the West. There are also observations that Russia is trying to establish a buffer zone to defend the Russian border town of Belgorod, which has recently been under frequent attacks from Ukraine.’,
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, ‘Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed Sergei Shoigu, who had been serving as defense minister for 12 years, as secretary of the National Security Council on that day, and nominated Andrei Belousov, former Deputy Prime Minister and economic expert, as the new defense minister. While there are interpretations that Shoigu was effectively dismissed as defense minister, NYT mentioned that appointing an economic official as defense minister was aimed at building an economic foundation for a long-term war.’,
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