The Ukrainian military is struggling to fight back against a fierce Russian assault along the nation’s northeast border — the first stage of what observers believe will be a massive summer offensive by the swelled ranks of Vladimir Putin’s army.
The new attacks are meant to stretch thin Ukraine’s already outnumbered defenders, according to The Sun.
Although Ukrainian troops ground Russia’s assault to a halt Tuesday night, Putin’s soldiers have already seized about 50 square miles of new territory northeast of Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city.
And it might get worse — the Russian dictator has amassed about a half-million troops on the front lines, just as Ukrainian leaders said they’re running out of reinforcements to stem the tide.
“I’ve used everything we have,” said Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, head of Kyiv’s military intelligence, according to The Sun. “Unfortunately, we don’t have anyone else in the reserves.”
The grim news paints a bleak picture — especially as Ukrainian forces began pulling back from some embattled areas as they fought the Russians tooth-and-nail in others.
During a surprise visit this week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sought to reassure the bloodied country that American support is on the way, courtesy of a $2 billion arms deal.
But that hasn’t assuaged concerns about the Russian offensive, which began last week and drove the Ukrainians away from some parts of the nations’ shared border.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky canceled his planned foreign visits given the dire situation.
Putin deployed about 40,000 soldiers and 500 tanks ahead of the ground assault, but the Ukrainians couldn’t preemptively attack because the United States forbade them from using certain weapons in enemy territory, the outlet added.
These figurative chains have let the Russians “form up at leisure,” UK joint chief Gen. Sir Richard Barrons said.
“Those are the only weapons that will break up Russian forces as they organize themselves for an offensive,” he said, according to The Sun.
The eventual attack pushed thousands of residents to evacuate war-torn border towns as Russia launched human-wave assaults against Ukrainian positions, sacrificing lives for inches of territory.
“It is a very dangerous offensive in the Kharkiv region right now, the Russians have made significant gains in a very short time,” Dr. Alan Mendoza, executive director of the UK-based think tank Henry Jackson Society, told The Sun.
Ukraine’s General Staff said Tuesday that its troops fell back from two areas in the Kharkiv region — Lukyantsi and Vovchansk — “in order to save the lives of our servicemen and avoid losses.”
Kyiv is sending more troops to the area, including army reserve units, according to the Ukrainian presidential office.
And the desperately needed American weapons secured in the US aid package have finally begun pouring into the front lines, The Sun said.
But Ukraine will need more troops to break Russia’s mammoth assault, Royal United Services Institute war expert Dr. Jack Watling told The Sun.
“The Russian forces have now expanded to 510,000 troops,” he said. “The outlook for Ukraine is bleak. Its allies must replenish stockpiles.”
Putin’s forces have also opened new fronts in their attempt to punch through Ukrainian lines, as defenders are short on manpower and ammunition along the 620-mile front.
Despite this, the Institute for the Study of War, a think tank in Washington, DC, said late Tuesday that Russia’s advance near Kharkiv has slowed.
The war — which Putin launched under dubious circumstances in February 2022 — has been costly for both sides, leading to hundreds of thousands of casualties.
With Post wires
