The city of Kharkiv is an important strategic target in the Russian war of aggression. Ukraine faces several problems in defense.
It is only about 25 kilometers from the Russian border to the outskirts of Kharkiv. In the 2022 attack, Russian units reached the second largest Ukrainian city after a few days, but were repulsed. The renewed offensive was no surprise for Ukraine. For months, Russia has been attacking Ukrainian positions between Kharkiv and the border, using rocket attacks to destroy much of the critical infrastructure in the city itself.
An undisputed factor for the Russians’ rapid advance is the general shortage of weapons and soldiers: Ukrainian reserves of ammunition and artillery are thin because deliveries from the USA have failed for more than half a year. There is a lack of soldiers because Ukraine has been arguing for a long time about a new mobilization law. The soldiers now drafted still have to be trained and equipped.
The lack of troops means that the Ukrainian General Staff has to pursue a strategy of “firefighting operations,” as military analysts Michael Kofman and Rob Lee write in the New York Times: combat-ready troops are quickly deployed to critical sections of the front. The fact that Russia has now extended the front by 200 kilometers makes the situation even more critical for Ukraine.
A big problem in Kharkiv: the glide bombs
A strategic disadvantage is that Ukraine’s partners do not allow Western weapons to be used against Russian territory. The Ukrainians had to largely stand by and watch the Russians’ deployment. In addition, they have not yet found any effective means against the Russian glide bombs.
Apparently the defense facilities were not expanded as massively as promised: in 2024 alone, the government had allocated the equivalent of around 700 million euros for this. The region’s governor explained that the reason for the construction work being stopped was that construction workers were injured and machinery was destroyed by Russian shelling.
It also reports that shortly before the attack, Russia managed to use disruptive measures to disable the Ukrainians’ drones, which they could use to track the movements of Russian troops.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
