Russia planned offensive on Sumy and Kharkiv in June: Source in General Staff reveals details
Photo: the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine revealed details of Russia's preparation for the offensive on Sumy and Kharkiv (Getty Images)
Russia planned to launch an offensive operation to capture the cities of Kharkiv and Sumy in early June. However, thanks to the actions of the Defense Forces, the Russian plan failed, according to a source in the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
According to a source, the Russian forces completed preparations for their offensive plan at the end of May. The offensive was planned to take place in the Sumy and Kharkiv directions from June 1 to 15. The goal was to capture the entire territory of the Kharkiv and Sumy regions, including the regional centers.
For this operation, Russia intended to deploy two army corps and one army, the source said. Around 46,000 troops were concentrated near Belgorod for the Kharkiv direction, while 23,000 troops were positioned for the Sumy direction.
The plan involved striking the Kharkiv direction first, with an offensive on the Sumy direction planned to follow 3–4 days later, pushing deeper into Ukrainian territory.
However, thanks to intelligence provided by reconnaissance, the Defense Forces disrupted Russia's plan, the source in the General Staff stated. Several Ukrainian brigades were redeployed to the first line of defense and later to the state border. When the Russian army launched its offensive, it was unable to break through the first line of defense.
After becoming bogged down in battles in the Kharkiv region, the Russian command shifted its focus to the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove directions.
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that Russia had been preparing an offensive on Sumy. He stated that the Kursk operation helped neutralize this threat.
In May, the Russian army also launched an offensive in several areas of the Kharkiv region, including an advance toward Vovchansk. However, they were unable to make further progress beyond the city. Intense fighting continues there, and the city has been largely destroyed by Russian strikes.
