Kharkiv direction has lost intensity seen last month - military expert Zgurets

He said this on Espreso TV.

"The situation is more or less predictable and can be assessed in such a way that the month-long Russian offensive in the Kharkiv direction did not have the success the enemy expected. We remember that the Russian offensive began on May 10. Russia tried to act on two fronts to expand the territory to get closer to Kharkiv, and the main idea of the Russians, in my opinion, was to get behind our troops operating in the Kupyansk direction. All these efforts of the invaders had limited results. We know that two areas are currently being held - in the direction of Lyptsi and near Vovchansk, where the Ukrainian Armed Forces are conducting counterattacks," commented the military expert.

According to him, both sides have deployed reserves to the Kharkiv direction.

"This direction has already lost the intensity it had a month ago. Even if we look at the number of combat clashes, there were 4-5 clashes in these areas yesterday, June 9, while in the Pokrovsk direction there remained 20-30. Regarding the possibility of the Russians resuming offensive actions in the Kharkiv direction, the enemy will be forced to act and create threats to keep our forces there. That is, the northern direction remains a distraction for the Russian army to divert our forces. The Russian actions resemble rust trying to eat through metal, as small enemy groups are trying to press on our defense in all areas," summarized Serhiy Zgurets.

• On June 9, the General Staff reported that 73 combat clashes had occurred at the front since the beginning of the day. Russian forces were most actively attacking Ukrainian positions in the Pokrovsk direction.