Russia has no strength to attack Kharkiv - military observer

He said this on Espreso TV.

"Russian offensive on Kupyansk has been going on for six months. There were attempts in the summer. In general, last year, Russian forces planned to go to Kupyansk as part of the offensive on Bakhmut, carried out by the Wagner PMC. And now we see every day that the Lyman-Kupyansk direction is one of the hottest spots on the frontline. That is, Russian enemy attempts to attack Kharkiv region are already underway, namely in the Lyman-Kupyansk direction. If we are talking about an offensive on Kharkiv from Belgorod, as discussed in foreign media, Russia does not have enough forces to attack a city like Kharkiv," the military observer said.

According to him, Russian grouping of troops from Belgorod has about 12,000 personnel, less than 100 tanks, and more than 300 different artillery systems, which is not enough to storm the city of Kharkiv, a city with a population of over a million.

"Let's compare with other areas and look at Lyman-Kupyansk direction, where Russian enemy grouping as of summer had about 100,000 personnel. Now about 50,000 people are advancing on Avdiivka. What are their achievements? It is clear that our defence comes at a high price, as the enemy is superior in manpower. But let's do the maths, if they are advancing on Kupyansk, Avdiivka, Bakhmut like this, what successes can  Russia achieve by advancing on Kharkiv in this way? At the moment, Russia does not have enough forces to attack Kharkiv, and there are no signs that such forces will be larger in this direction," Denys Popovych summed up.

• On January 5, the head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration said that no concentrations of Russian military units capable of attacking Kharkiv had been recorded near the border with Ukraine.