Ukrainian Armed Forces colonel explains why Putin opened Kharkiv front

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

“There is so much fear in our media space. Unfortunately, the enemy has achieved its goal in this regard. Why the Kharkiv region, and why now? Firstly, Putin did not realize the concept of reaching the administrative borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions before the day of the victory. Even for their propaganda machine, this is a serious defeat. They need at least some success,” explained Chernyk.

According to the military expert, the tricolor over Ukrainian occupied village in the Kharkiv region is almost like the Berlin operation for Russia, it has shifted all its focus there.

“Secondly, Kharkiv remains a large military-industrial complex. A huge number of things that ensure Ukraine's defense work there. The Russians wanted to create a real humanitarian crisis, so that hundreds of thousands of Kharkiv residents would leave Kharkiv, so that there would be no workers. And the most important point is that the Peace Summit starts in June in Switzerland. Putin is doing everything he can to show the countries of the global South that he can do something and thus win them over to his side. That is, the situation is threatening, but not catastrophic,” Chernyk emphasized.

• Since the beginning of the day, 60 combat clashes have taken place, 20 of which are still ongoing. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to prevent the enemy from advancing deep into Ukrainian territory.
• President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the occupying Russian army has advanced no more than 10 km in the Kharkiv direction.