Kharkiv is a border city between Ukraine and Russia, as well as the second largest city in Ukraine and a hero city. In World War II, the Soviet Red Army fought four Kharkiv battles with the German Wehrmacht in the Kharkiv region, making outstanding contributions to the victory of World War II.
On May 10, the Russian army mobilized 50,000 troops, thousands of drones, hundreds of artillery pieces and a large number of tanks to launch a large-scale attack on Kharkiv. As of the 13th, the Russian army has occupied 11 settlements on the Kharkiv border, covering an area of 200 square kilometers.
The Russian army has approached the border town of Vovchansk, and Russia is mainly playing the time difference this time, using the weapons of the West to aid Ukraine until the time comes, and obtaining as much territorial benefits as possible. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that Russia's attack on Kharkiv this time is mainly to mobilize the Ukrainian army in eastern Ukraine in order to seek a breakthrough on the battlefield. What is the Ukrainian army suffering this time? There are three main aspects, (1) the Russian army has a first-mover advantage this time, (2) the Ukrainian army does not have strong fortifications near Kharkiv like in Bakhmut, and (3) Western assistance is still on the way.
The Russian army wants to open a second battlefield in Kharkiv to achieve the purpose of dispersing Ukrainian troops, but it is basically impossible for the Russian army to capture Kharkiv with 50,000 troops. In that year, the Russian army used tens of thousands of troops to capture the two small towns of Bakhmut and Avdeyevka, and tens of thousands of people were killed in Bakhmut. Bakhmut and Avdeyevka are only a few hundred square kilometers, while Kharkiv covers an area of more than 30,000 square kilometers. Now the Russian army is mainly occupying rural areas on the border, and when the Ukrainian army stabilizes its position, the Western-aided Patriot defense system, American-made army infantry fighting vehicles, sufficient artillery and a large number of Stinger missiles will form a state of anxiety here. In order to alleviate the pressure on the soldiers, Ukraine has also mobilized about 20,000 prisoner soldiers.
In 2022, in the case of a surprise attack by Russia, and without Western weapons assistance in Ukraine, the Ukrainian army was able to use the Hippocampus rocket artillery to attack the logistics of the Russian army in September 2022, resulting in the withdrawal of the Russian army. Now that the situation is becoming more and more favorable to Ukraine, it is quite difficult for the Russian army to capture Kharkiv again, and the Ukrainian army will already be victorious if it can stabilize the front this year. Now it is not the Ukrainian army that is in a hurry, it is the Russian army that is in a hurry.
Now the US-British coalition is conducting airdrop exercises in the Nurm region of Estonia, although the United States and Britain have repeatedly stated that they have no intention of ending it directly. But they are putting pressure on the Russian army all the time. Macron has repeatedly drawn red lines for Russia, and if the Russian army attacks Kyiv and Odessa, France will have to send troops.
The current situation is that NATO and Russian armies can feel each other's pressure, but they don't get along with each other, so they put pressure on each other all the time. In short, it is very, very difficult for Russia to win the Russian-Ukrainian war, and Russia as a nation has always been the master who refuses to suffer, and Ukraine is the same. Ukraine is in a very good situation, if it does not fight, it will be a catastrophe for Ukraine, Ukraine has no choice, and Russia has provoked people who should not be provoked.