Russian troops were locked in intense battles with Ukrainian soldiers around the embattled town of Vovchansk in northeast Ukraine on Monday, pushing ahead with a ground offensive that opened a new front and put more pressure on overstretched Ukrainian forces.
Moscow’s renewed northeast offensive, launched late last week, was the most significant border incursion since the full-scale invasion began. In just two days, Moscow has captured from 38 to 47 square miles. If Ukraine isn’t able to halt Moscow’s advance, it could create conditions for a possible attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.
The Kremlin’s forces are seeking to divert and distract Ukrainian troops across the 620-mile front line until the next batch of new military aid for Kyiv from the U.S. and European partners arrives on the battlefield in the coming weeks and months, Ukrainian commanders and analysts said. Small batches of U.S. military aid have started to trickle into the front line in the form of much-needed artillery. But it will take at least two months before incoming supplies will meet Kyiv’s needs to hold the line.
Source- ABC
