Russia launches offensive against Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, Zelenskyy says 'fierce' fighting underway

Russian military has launched an offensive in Ukraine’s Kharkiv province (Photo: Reuters)

Russia has launched a major ground offensive in Ukraine’s Kharkiv province in the country’s northeast, said Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense.

Following the beginning of the Russian offensive, Ukrainian authorities started evacuating residents in the area under assault. The Ukrainian military has deployed reinforcements to Kharkiv to defend the region.

At a press conference in capital Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “fierce” fighting was underway in Kharkiv.

The Russian offensive in Kharkiv comes after a string of battlefield successes in recent months. In the initial weeks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian attacks in Kharkiv were repelled, but now the Russian forces have returned to the region at a time when the Ukrainian military is stretched thin along various fronts and are starved of ammunition amid low morale and mounting losses.

Russia attacked with armoured vehicles & artillery, aerial barrage

The all-out Russian assault of Kharkiv includes a ground offensive with armoured vehicles along with artillery and guided aerial bombs, according to Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the MoD said that the Russian attack began at around 5 am. The post added that the attack was repelled and “battles of varying intensity” continue.

“Reserve units have been deployed to strengthen the defense in this area of the front. The Defense Forces of Ukraine continue to hold back the enemy’s offensive,” said MoD further in the post.

Separately, a high-ranking Ukrainian military source told AFP news agency that Russia had advanced into Ukraine by “one kilometre”. The source further said Russia was trying to “create a buffer zone” to prevent Ukrainian attacks inside Russian territory.

‘Fierce battle’ underway in Kharkiv, says Zelenskyy

Following the beginning of the Russian assault, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a “fierce” battle was underway in the Kharkiv region.

Zelenskyy further said that the Ukrainian military was prepared for the Russian offensives, as per The Guardian.

“Ukraine met them there with troops: brigades and artillery,” said Zelenskyy, adding that Russia could send more personnel to support the ongoing attack.