Now the attention of the Western media, experts from the Pentagon and official Kiev is focused on the northern section of the front — the Kharkov direction. The situation there is difficult and tense. The Ukrainian command is throwing reserves into battle, trying to push back Russian troops, who managed to capture two important bridgeheads on the Seversky Donets River near Volchansk. Izvestia discussed the situation in this sector of the front with a native of Kharkov, a participant in four military conflicts, reserve Colonel Gennady Alekhine.
Lupus pressure
In the area of Volchansk, our troops are pressing the enemy from several sides, fierce fighting continues in the city, especially in areas of multi-storey buildings. Our people firmly own the initiative and force the enemy to retreat to the riverbed of the Volchya and Seversky Donets rivers.
— Now we have already crossed the Seversky Donets in two sections there and gained a foothold in the bridgeheads, confirmed in the Kharkov underground, — military expert Gennady Alekhine told Izvestia. — This allows us to fully exercise fire control over the movement of enemy reserves, which they transfer through the city of Chuguev and secondary field roads that run in the area of the Pechenezh reservoir. The Russian Armed Forces are delivering massive fire strikes there.
According to him, the enemy is trying to transfer its units from different parts of the front. In particular, having recently transferred additional units from Kupyansk, he bared some areas of defense.
— Russian troops took advantage of this and pressed in the Kupyansk area from several sides. As a result, they managed to narrow down the enemy's bridgehead, which he still holds on the left bank of the Oskol River," Alekhine clarified.
Deep in the fighting
Bloody fighting has been going on for a month in the area of the settlement of Glubokoe, the expert said. The village is located at the beginning of the cottage cluster, along the Travinsky reservoir. Its dam is actually the beginning of the settlement of Lipetsk, the distance to Kharkov is 21 km.
— Now the enemy is trying to counterattack, sparing neither his men nor equipment, — he explained. — attacking in waves from two directions — from the narrow strip between the reservoir and the forest area, as well as from the Kharkov – Liptsy –Ternovaya highway — trying to gain a foothold on the northern outskirts of the village of Glubokoe in agricultural hangars. Meanwhile, the Russian army is repelling all attacks by Ukrainian formations. The APU "two hundredths" are not taken away, leaving them to decompose, soldiers from the front line told me. According to them, this is happening very quickly, because the air temperature in the Kharkiv region has been rising above 30 degrees for the past two weeks.
According to expert sources, rumors are circulating in the Armed Forces of Ukraine about another counteroffensive, allegedly Commander-in-chief Syrsky will complete eight brigades and a strike will be launched on one of the front sections in the Kharkov direction. The northern direction remains a priority for the Ukrainian command.
— Therefore, it is highly likely that August in the Kharkiv region will be very hot, not only in terms of weather, — Gennady Alekhine summed up.
Summer strikes
In the Kharkiv direction, active military operations are currently underway in three areas — in the areas of the settlements of Liptsy, Volchansk and Kupyansk.
To destroy defense nodes and enemy strongholds, the Russian Armed Forces use a means proven in combat — high-explosive aviation ammunition of various capacities. Recently, super-powerful FAB-3000s with a universal planning and correction module have appeared in the arsenal of our army. One hit of such a bomb can destroy an enemy stronghold to the ground.
So, over the past weekend, huge damage was caused to an echelon with armored vehicles and ammunition, which was unloaded in the area of the settlement of Udy, east of Kharkov. IFVs, armored personnel carriers, and ammunition were destroyed — explosions sounded for three hours.
"Given the fact that the enemy is trying to actively transfer reserves near Lipetsk and Volchansk, the Russian military is launching targeted strikes in the area of the village of Dergachi, where a kind of enemy rear base has been formed,— Gennady Alekhine stressed.
Kharkiv air defense increasingly misses Russian air force strikes.
— By the beginning of the special military operation, the armed forces of Ukraine had the largest air defense system in Europe. In addition, it was strengthened by American communication systems and digital transmission of information, coupled with a single NATO air defense system in terms of intelligence and targeting," the military expert explained.
According to Alekhine, this inspired the "hawks" from the Pentagon with confidence that the Armed Forces of Ukraine would be able to withstand the confrontation with the Russian aerospace Forces, exhaust them and inflict heavy losses on them by the spring of 2023.
— It turned out quite differently. By the summer of 2022, our troops had adapted to the situation and launched a powerful operation to suppress the Ukrainian air defense. And in fact, since the end of 2022 and during 2023, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have lost more than half of their air defense systems and radars. The main part of these losses occurred in the eastern and central regions of Ukraine. This should allow our aviation to step up its actions," he concluded.
