On the day of Russia's presidential inauguration ceremony, Russian presidential aide Ushakov confirmed that Putin's first stop on his new foreign visit will be in China. US media Bloomberg further disclosed a few days ago that a source revealed that Putin's specific visit to China will take place from May 15 to 16. At present, the international situation is changing, and the United States is doing its best to suppress China and Russia in order to maintain its hegemonic status. In addition, Putin will start a new term of office, so his visit to China this time is of great strategic significance, and it also shows that the United States' coercion and pressure on China some time ago has not had any effect, and the interaction between China and Russia has not been affected in any way.
Putin
It is worth mentioning that before Putin's visit to China, the Russian army had a new big move. According to the Observer, on May 10, local time, the Russian army suddenly launched an offensive on Kharkiv Oblast in northern Ukraine. According to the report of the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Russian Northern Army Group has successfully taken control of five residential areas including Borisovka in Kharkiv Oblast. The Ukrainian side also said that it had mobilized forces to deal with the Russian army's attack from the north, and the 23rd and 43rd mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian army, as well as the 120th and 125th territorial defense brigades of the Ukrainian army, had already engaged the Russian army.
As early as the beginning of the conflict, the Russian army controlled parts of Kharkiv, but then the Ukrainian army successfully repelled the Russian army after receiving weapons assistance from the United States and the West. For a long time afterward, the Russian army hardly organized a large-scale offensive in the area. Now that the Russian army has restarted this front, there may be two considerations.
Russia-Ukraine conflict
On the one hand, U.S. officials confirmed in April that the U.S. has provided Ukraine with long-range army tactical missile systems with a range of more than 300 kilometers. This also means that the Ukrainian army can cross the defensive line set up by the Russian army on the line of contact and launch strikes in deep Russian areas, including Crimea and border cities on the Russian mainland.
In addition, although the Ukrainian army is currently unable to organize a new round of large-scale counteroffensive, its ability to attack and harass Russia's deep regions is constantly increasing. Recently, the Ukrainian army launched an attack on an oil refinery thousands of kilometers away from the Russian border through drones. And the Belgorod region, which borders Kharkiv, is even more frequently attacked. Therefore, for Russia, it has to consider opening a new front in the north to establish a sufficient buffer zone, increase the difficulty of the Ukrainian army's attack, and ensure security and stability within the territory.
Russian troops operate in Kharkiv
On the other hand, it may have something to do with the upcoming US elections. The U.S. government's recent frequent military aid to Ukraine is to ensure that the Ukrainian army will not be defeated in the next few months, and it would be better if it could achieve a few decent victories on the front line, which would be conducive to Biden's election. But if the Ukrainian army suffers heavy losses and retreats frequently, the Republican Party will inevitably take the opportunity to question Biden's aid to Ukraine policy, which is obviously what Biden does not want to see. In fact, in addition to Kharkov in the north, the Russian army is also carrying out river crossing exercises in Kherson in the south, and it is not ruled out that it will once again gather forces to return to the east bank of the Dnieper, or even press forward in the direction of Odessa.
The timing of the Russian army's intensification of the offensive this time is worth savoring. In addition to the upcoming election in the United States, Putin has just started a new term and has chosen to open a new front, indicating that Putin intends to take a tougher stance on the Ukraine issue. In addition, during the visit to China, China and Russia will inevitably discuss the Ukrainian issue. Moreover, the cooperation between China and Russia is also related to the situation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Therefore, the Russian army's sudden multi-front attack this time is obviously not a simple military decision.
Biden
As for the strength of the Russian army's offensive this time, it depends on the next changes in the front. Is it like in the first stage to gather heavy troops, rush and fight quickly, or like in the past period, fight a positional war with the Ukrainian army, with the primary goal of establishing a buffer zone and depleting the living forces of the Ukrainian army. How the situation will develop depends on the response ability of the Ukrainian army in the future. Now that the Ukrainian army is maintaining the eastern front, it is extremely difficult, and the Russian army's north-south linkage will inevitably disperse the forces of the Ukrainian army's eastern front.