Comment on Zelenskyy says Russia is giving up on Kharkiv, months after Moscow tried to blow open the war's northeastern front

Zelenskyy says Russia is giving up on Kharkiv, months after Moscow tried to blow open the war's northeastern front

Zelenskyy said in June that Russia had "failed" its Kharkiv offensive, and now says it has moved its focus away from the northeastern front.Carl Court/Getty ImagesVolodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia has shifted its focus away from Kharkiv, concentrating instead on the east.His statement comes months after Moscow pushed into Kharkiv from the north with thousands of troops.Russia denies its attack failed but hasn't made significant gains in the northeastern region.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that Russia has moved its focus away from Kharkiv and to the eastern front, with fighting intensifying near the city of Pokrovsk.In an interview with French media, Zelenskyy said Russian forces are now "throwing everything they have" at Pokrovsk."The main objective today, after their failure to capture Kharkiv, which we understand is no longer feasible, has shifted," said Zelenskyy, according to a translation by Ukrainian outlet Pravda."Their primary focus is no longer the entire east, though Sloviansk is not excluded," he added, referring to a city in northern Donetsk that borders the Kharkiv region.His claim points to an end to Mocow's May push to break through defensive lines in Kharkiv, Ukraine's northeasternmost region on Russia's border.The Kremlin has denied that its offensive had failed."This operation is ongoing, it will continue until it has been successfully completed," said Dmitry Peskov, its spokesperson, on July 17.Its surprise assault reopened the war's northeastern front, with an estimated 30,000 Russian troops seizing several villages and threatening Kharkiv city, the second-largest in Ukraine.Ukraine's rush to counter the incursion appeared messy, with some commanders saying the region was missing defensive positions that should have already been prepared before.Kyiv also told its allies that it had watched Russian troops massing at the border but could do nothing since it was restricted from firing into Russian territory with Western-made weapons.

 

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