It's been a long time since I talked about the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield, I thought that the Russian army would keep pushing down so slowly, but I didn't expect Putin to make a big move just after he was elected. Recently, 50,000 Russian troops approached Kharkiv in multiple ways, with only 30 kilometers left, and also took 11 villages and besieged two important towns. Then he replaced Shoigu and replaced the new Minister of Defense, it seems that Putin's entire layout in the second half of the year will have big changes, so in the face of this new situation, the Ukrainian army is facing three dilemmas, and how will it fight back in the future?
May 13 is the third day of the Russian army's sword against Kharkiv, first look at the news of the Russian army, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense on May 12, the Russian army continued to launch an offensive in Kharkiv, and occupied 4 settlement villages after breaking through the defense line. On May 13, the Russian army took a total of 11 villages and besieged two key areas. One is that Volchansk is now on the offensive in three directions, but the fighting is mainly taking place in the suburbs, and not in the core city and high-rise buildings. It is estimated that I am still afraid that the casualties will be too large, and now the edge is OB, after all, the Russian army is only 50,000, and the fight against Kharkov will definitely have to wait for follow-up reinforcements.
The other is in the Liptsi direction, where Russian troops operate on the northern outskirts of the city and are still in the stage of bombardment and liquidation with 155 howitzers and rocket artillery. This area is also an important stronghold of the Ukrainian army, and most of the artillery and ballistics fired at Belgorod and other border cities of the Russian army were fired from Liptsy positions. Therefore, if the Russian army wants to create a buffer zone on the border, then it must first take this Liptsy and drive the Ukrainian army farther away.
In addition, on the Izbizik-Starizia-Bugruvatka line, the Russian army repelled the Ukrainian defenders, broke through to the vicinity of Staritsy and began to fight in Bugruvatka. Then let's take a look at the news of the Ukrainian army, first of all, the big revelations of the Kharkiv defenders. According to a commander of the special forces of the Ukrainian army in the Kharkiv defenders, quoted by B*BC, the Russian army "walked directly into Kharkiv" because there were no fortifications and trenches on the border. And this commander, at the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, drove the Russian army away from the Kharkiv defense line. The commander believed that their fortifications were "embezzled".
However, what is more funny is that in December 2023, the "Kyiv Independent" also reported that the fortifications of Kharkiv are the strongest in Ukraine, and other regions should follow Kharkiv's example. This slap in the face came too quickly. And Ukrainian sources say that now Kharkiv is already very panicked and has begun to carry out a large-scale evacuation. So many military fans are also very concerned, that is, is it possible for the Ukrainian army to increase troops to counterattack? This brings us to the three dilemmas facing the Ukrainian army at present.
One is that the Ukrainian army does not dare to send reinforcements, and the American "New York Times" said that the Russian army's offensive has expanded the battlefield on Ukraine's northern border and further increased the military pressure on the Ukrainian army, which may lead to Ukraine having troops in the direction of Kharkiv, which will further deplete Ukraine's military reserves. Now the Russian army is also in the Donetsk direction, and once the reinforcements of Kharkiv are delayed, then the Ukrainian army will completely fall into strategic passivity.
The second is that the Ukrainian army does not seem to be fully fortified in Kharkiv, and only one or two cities can be defended, and then there is Kharkiv itself, but the Russian army may be surrounded but not fighting, and the Ukrainian army here can be dragged down, so that they cannot reinforce other areas.
The third is that the Russian army has recently replaced a new defense minister, Putin nominated Andrei Belousov (Andrei Belousov) as Russian defense minister, and this person is the former Russian economy minister and first deputy prime minister. As for Shoigu, after 12 years as defense minister, he became the secretary of the Security Council and continued to manage the defense industry. Then this also makes the Ukrainian army more passive, and a series of actions by the new defense minister from the economic background may input stronger impetus to the Russian army, and the Ukrainian army's ability to counterattack may be greater at that time.
In general, the opening of the second front in Kharkiv has actually spread all over the past few months, and now that the boots are on the ground, the Ukrainian army looks defenseless at all, or has no ability to defend itself, and the entire defense line was directly penetrated by the Russian army. In the future, whether the Russian army will create a border buffer zone or hang Kharkov to disperse the forces of the Ukrainian army, then the initiative will be in the hands of the Russian army, and the strategic situation will be greatly improved. On the other hand, the Ukrainian army is now passive, if the two fronts work together at a critical moment, then it is likely to "fall apart", it seems that the Russian-Ukrainian war has entered garbage time, and many Ukrainian troops may have no fighting spirit, and can only be at the negotiating table when the two sides come.