Ukraine's top security official on Kharkiv: Russia could repeat Aleppo

He said this in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on June 3.

Lytvynenko pointed out that in 2016, the Russian air force, alongside the forces of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, backed by the Kremlin, targeted and destroyed the power and water supply infrastructure of Aleppo, bombing hospitals and schools. As a result, Aleppo lost two-thirds of its population.

"People were simply pushed out. This is the strategy they aim to implement around Kharkiv," emphasized Lytvynenko.

Situation in Kharkiv

• On April 17, Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said that without US assistance, Kharkiv could become a second Aleppo.
• Russia does not stop shelling Kharkiv. On May 25, invading troops attacked the Epicenter construction hypermarket, killing 19 people. On May 31, Russian army struck twice at a residential building in Kharkiv, killing 9 people.
• On June 3, Institute for the Study of War stated that providing Ukraine with air defence systems and lifting restrictions on strikes on targets in Russia with Western weapons would make it possible to protect Kharkiv and the region from attacks.