President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, in a statement made during a visit to China, stated that there were no plans for the capture of Kharkiv. He noted that in April he expressed the threat of creation of the "sanitary zone" on the border of Kharkiv and Belgorod regions, but at the moment he again spoke about this idea. However, Putin noted that the attack in May in the north of Kharkiv region was due to shelling of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and this was an attempt to create a "sanitary zone".
"I have already said in public that in the event of such events, we can be forced to create a safety area, a sanitary area. And here we are doing it. As for Kharkiv, there are no such plans today," Putin said during a press conference.
For the first time, the idea of creating a "sanitary zone" was announced by the President of Russia during a press conference on March 18.
"I do not exclude that, given the current tragic events, we will be forced at some point when it will be considered appropriate, to create a certain 'sanitary zone' in the territories currently under the rule of the Kiev regime," Putin said.
On May 10, the Ukrainian military reported the beginning of the Russian offensive operation in the north of Kharkiv region in the area adjacent to the Belgorod region. This information was soon confirmed by the Ministry of Defense of Russia.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday, May 17 that the Armed Forces of Ukraine were able to stabilize the situation with the offensive of the Russian army in the Kharkiv region.
"The forces of defense stopped the Russians where they are now. Fall, where they moved - it is 10 kilometers. In some areas, there is no enemy advancement at all," Zelensky emphasized at a briefing for journalists.
This week, the Russian army, as reported, tried to continue its offensive in the direction of the village of Liptsi north of the regional center. The Armed Forces of Ukraine were forced to retreat a few kilometers from the border.
On Friday, the Commander -in -Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Alexander Sirsky, stated on social networks that Russian troops expanded the area of active fighting by almost 70 kilometers in Kharkiv region. He pointed out that the Russians concentrated their efforts on the direction of Lipts and the captured Vovchansk, trying to break into the rear of Ukrainian troops.
Syrsky emphasized the need for sustainable maintenance of the occupied borders and positions, the use of aviation, missile systems, artillery and tanks for the task of maximum losses of the enemy. He also called for mobile assault groups and units that could attack the enemy from the flank and rear from different directions.
A week ago, Western and Ukrainian media reported Russia's intention to create a 10-kilometer buffer zone along the northern border of Kharkiv region. This should help protect the settlements in Russia from artillery shelling and provide the opportunity to fire Kharkiv from the Russian territory.
Although experts do not exclude the possibility of a large -scale offensive on Kharkiv in the future, they do not see objective prerequisites for this.
