Russian troops are successfully advancing towards Kharkiv
MOSCOW, May 15 — RIA Novosti, Andrey Igorev. In recent days, events in the Kharkov sector of the front have been developing rapidly. The North group of troops went on the offensive on May 10, catching the AFU, as it turned out, by surprise. About what is happening in the SVO zone — in the RIA Novosti material.
There is no defense
The offensive was preceded by a powerful artillery preparation. Drones were actively working in the sky. The resources of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that up to 30 Russian reconnaissance drones were constantly in the air, correcting strikes.
Then the assault groups moved forward. They hit in two directions — Volchansk and Lipetsk, important logistics hubs. More importantly, there are positions of artillery shelling Russian cities. At first, the enemy, clearly demoralized by the precise hits of howitzers and drones, offered little resistance. On the first day, more than 30 prisoners were captured.
The Ministry of Defense announced the liberation of five settlements in the Kharkiv region at once: Borisovka, Ogurtsovo, Pletnevka, Dusty and Strelechya. The losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine per day — up to 170 servicemen, three armored combat vehicles and four cars. In addition, the Czech Vampire MLRS and the very dangerous 155-millimeter CAESAR self-propelled gun, brought from France, were destroyed.
It turned out that the enemy actually has no first line of defense. The trenches dug by an excavator and hastily put together dugouts were quickly mixed with the ground by the artillery. There were no impenetrable fortifications, which Zelensky recently boasted of, on the Russian-Ukrainian border.
Ukrainian border guards themselves wrote about this on social networks, directly accusing the country's leadership of stealing money allocated for the construction of trenches, concreted bunkers with protected communication passages, shelters for personnel and everything else.
Russian military in the special operation zone
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Stanislav Krasilnikov
The goal is Volchansk
On Sunday, May 12, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on the liberation of the villages of Gatishche, Krasnoe, Morokhovets and Oleinikovo. Enemy losses — up to 100 soldiers, as well as several armored vehicles, including two tanks and another valuable Caesar. The military group "North" confidently marched south. The militants of the nationalist formations "Kraken" and "Tornado" surrendered. Special services officers are talking to them now.
By Monday, the front had shifted to Volchansk — fighting broke out on its outskirts. Russian units were preparing for the assault with strong air support. High-explosive aerial bombs with planning and correction modules hit every defense node detected by aerial reconnaissance. Then the infantry came into action. The tactics are the same as in Avdiivka: do not go forward until the enemy's positions are properly ironed by aviation. And it works: the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, according to the military department, reached 250 people per day.
On Tuesday, a number of Ukrainian sources, and later the Ministry of Defense, confirmed that the advanced units of the North group occupied Lukyantsy seven kilometers northeast of Liptsy, thereby expanding the bridgehead in this area. In the late afternoon, Bugrovatka was liberated five kilometers west of Volchansk. The city itself continues to be taken in a pincer grip. There is an advance in the western and northern parts of Volchansk. As the key strongholds of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are destroyed, the front line straightens and the group unites for a further offensive to the south and southwest towards Kharkov.
A serviceman of the Russian Armed Forces carries a projectile for the BM-21 Grad MLRS
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Stanislav Krasilnikov
Further offensive
One glance at the map is enough to understand that the APU is being moved away from the border along its entire length. The troops have already penetrated eight to nine kilometers into the Kharkiv region. The enemy, as expected, responded with strikes on Belgorod: the Tochka-U tactical missile brought down the entrance section of an apartment building.
The purpose of the offensive is to create a sanitary zone along the border. The President spoke about this at a meeting with media representatives last year. The North group was tasked with pushing the enemy back as far as possible in order to narrow down the choice of weapons available to it. Even the vaunted "Caesar" will not finish from Lipetsk to Belgorod.
However, it is unlikely that the offensive will end on the Volchansk—Liptsy line. It is only 11-12 kilometers from the border, and the HIMARS MLRS hits 80-90. There is evidence that the Ukrainian Armed Forces placed rocket launchers in the urban area of Kharkov and fired at Russian territory.
Talk of storming the second largest city in Ukraine is premature, but its blocking looks quite logical: it is necessary to deprive Kiev of the opportunity to bring ammunition and reinforcements to the garrison.
In addition to ensuring the security of Russian territories from shelling, the operation of the North group solves another important task. The enemy is already moving units and formations from other directions to Kharkov, exposing entire sections of the front. In particular, according to representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, several battalions were removed near Kherson. However, by the time they get to the place, the front line may seriously change.
T-72 tank of the Center group of troops during combat missions in the zone of a special military operation
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Stanislav Krasilnikov
