During the offensive to the north of the Kharkiv region, the Russian army advanced no more than 10 km.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this at a meeting with journalists, reports RBC-Ukraine.
According to the president, he had a substantive meeting with the commander of the combined forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Yurii Sodol, head of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi, general Mykhailo Drapaty, head of the State Border Service of Ukraine Serhii Deineko and representatives of the National Police.
“Today, our Defense Forces have stabilized the Russians where they are now. The deepest point of their advance is 10 kilometers. In the directions of some enemy brigades, there is no advance at all — and there was none”, – Zelenskyy said.
He also said that Ukraine has very powerful brigades.
“I am grateful to them. Now we have strengthened several directions with separate battalions — what could be taken somewhere from the reserve and from some directions”, – the president noted.
Zelenskyy said that the crossing of the border by the Russians was due to the fact that Ukraine lacks air defense equipment.
“They operate at a distance where they have an advantage, using aerial bombs and artillery. Eight months of pause in decision-making by partners. It is clear that it was not easy for our soldiers”, – Zelenskyy said.
The President of Ukraine assured that “no one has reached the concrete line of defense, it is delusional that they say the enemy has reached the first line. The first line is not a border, it is impossible to build there, because our people died because of the appropriate weapons used by the Russians.”
“They are roughly there now. This is the first line, the line built in the war, under constant fire, by our military. The first and second lines are built by the military, and the third line is built by the local authorities. It is the most powerful – not because they are better for the military, but simply because it is further from weapons, from shells, from shelling”, – Zelenskyy added.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that Vovchansk is their goal. In addition, the Russian army wants to get a corresponding zone of 10 kilometers.
“But the most important thing for today is that our Defense Forces have stabilized the situation”, – the president said.
The offensive of the Russian army in the Kharkiv region
On the night of May 10, Russian troops launched an offensive in the north of the Kharkiv region. They managed to capture about ten settlements.
