The Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday that its forces have captured five villages as part of a renewed ground assault in northeastern Ukraine. Ukrainian officials haven't officially confirmed whether Russian had taken the villages, which lie in a contested "gray zone" on the border of Ukraine's Kharkiv region and Russia. Ukrainian journalists reported that the villages of Borysivka, Ohirtseve, Pylna, and Strilecha were taken. Russia said the village of Pletenivka also fell, the AP reports. The Institute for the Study of War, Washington-based think tank, described recent Russian gains as "tactically significant."
The renewed assault has forced more than 1,700 civilians residing in settlements near the fighting to flee, according to Ukrainian authorities. It comes after Russia stepped up attacks in March targeting energy infrastructure and settlements, which analysts predicted were a concerted effort to shape conditions for an offensive. Russia's recent push in Kharkiv also seeks to exploit ammunition shortages before promised Western supplies can reach the front line and pin down Ukrainian forces in the northeast, keeping them away from heavy battles in the Donetsk region where Moscow's troops are gaining ground, analysts said.
Russian military bloggers said the assault could mark the start of a Russian attempt to carve out a "buffer zone" that President Vladimir Putin vowed to create to halt Ukrainian attacks on Belgorod and other Russian border regions. Fears also mount that Russia might be able to cut supply routes and besiege Kharkiv, a city of 1.1 million, per the AP. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed Friday evening in a video on X that Russian forces were expanding their operations. He called on the country's Western allies to ensure that promised deliveries of military aid swiftly reach the front lines. "A package that truly helps is the actual delivery of weapons to Ukraine, rather than just the announcement of a package," he said.
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