Some Russian raids are possible: military expert Zgurets on situation in Kharkiv region

He spoke about this on Espreso TV.

"We are now once again paying attention to what is happening on our border. We know that until recently, the enemy deployed 50,000 personnel in the Belgorod, Kursk and Bryansk regions of the Russian Federation. If I'm not mistaken, there were 8,000 in Bryansk region, 10,000 in Kursk, and 35,000 in Belgorod, and in total it was up to 50,000 Russian soldiers. There was information that the enemy is trying to increase the grouping in the Belgorod region, to bring the number to 50,000, and in the future to 70,000," the military expert noted.

According to him, when the head of the KRAKEN special forces unit, Kostiantyn Nemichev, commented on this situation to The Economist, he said that Russia was amassing forces and may have certain intentions to advance into Ukrainian territory.

"However, 50,000 enemy personnel in the Belgorod region is not enough to conduct any large-scale offensive. Although now the enemy is indeed forming Sever grouping of troops in the depths, where the new 44th Corps is being redeployed, and a certain accumulation of forces is actually taking place. Even if there are 70,000 personnel, let's remember Russia's offensive on Avdiivka, where 80,000-100,000 enemy personnel were used. We can say that certain raids by the enemy are possible, and the Ukrainian side takes these risks into account. We understand that such raids will require the Ukrainian Armed Forces to pull back certain forces and reserves that could be useful in other areas," summarized Zgurets.

• The deputy commander of the Third Assault Brigade, Maksym Zhorin, said that Russia was actively preparing for an offensive.
• On May 8, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi reported to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the situation at the front, the protection of the population, and the disruption of Russian offensives.