“Violent fighting” on the border with Russia – DW – 05/12/2024

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said today, Sunday (05/12/2024), that the Ukrainian defense forces are waging violent battles in the Kharkiv region in the northeast of the country, where thousands of people were evacuated after the start of the attack ordered by the Ukrainian president. The Russian regime, which has achieved successes in sparsely populated border towns.

“Defensive battles and heavy fighting continue along most of our borders,” the head of state said, adding that some villages “have already gone from being a gray zone to a combat zone.” Zelensky also pointed to renewed fighting on the southeastern front, specifically in the Donetsk region.

For his part, the governor of the Kharkiv region, Oleg Senegubov, wrote on his social media platforms, “All northern border regions are exposed to enemy fire almost 24 hours a day. The situation is difficult.” The authority added that “the number of locations where active hostilities are taking place has increased.”

The attempts stopped

Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian forces, Oleksandr Sirsky, confirmed that “attempts to break through our defenses have stopped,” but admitted that the situation had “deteriorated significantly” and that the invaders had achieved some “partial successes” for the Ukrainians. He declared that “they will do everything in their power to maintain their lines of defense and inflict damage on the enemy.”

The authorities in Kiev have been warning for weeks that Moscow may try to attack the northeastern border regions, while Ukraine continues to wait for Western aid and suffers from a shortage of soldiers. On the same day, Russia announced its control of four other towns close to the border – Gatichi, Krasnoye, Morokhovets and Olenikovo – in the Kharkiv region. This has not been independently confirmed.

DZC (AFP)