Russia essentially launches offensive in Sumy and Kharkiv regions - Ukraine's army chief
Photo: Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (t.me/ministry_of_defense_ua)
Russia has essentially already launched an offensive in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions. The number of battles in all main directions has increased, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi says.
According to Syrskyi, Russia's willingness to sacrifice a large number of infantry for the sake of tactical victories has not changed fundamentally. Today, Russia continues its strategic offensive operation with the aim of:
- advancement deep into Ukraine and the complete occupation of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as parts of Kherson and Zaporizhia regions;
- creation of a buffer zone on the territory of Kharkiv, Sumy, and Chernihiv regions.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine added that despite all the negotiations aimed at ending the full-scale Russian invasion, Ukraine is only observing an increase in the intensity of Russia's offensive actions.
Commenting on the words of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with Le Figaro that Russia is preparing for a new offensive on Sumy and Kharkiv regions, Syrsky stated that this offensive has actually already begun.
"Because for several days, almost a week, we have been observing an almost doubling of the number of Russian offensive actions in all main directions," he added.
Russia's spring offensive
In late March, Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian intelligence had detected Russia preparing for a new offensive in Ukraine. The threat was aimed at the Sumy, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhia regions.
As the Associated Press reported, Russia plans to maximize pressure on Ukraine and strengthen Moscow's position in the ceasefire talks.
