Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that his troops have sufficient artillery shells for the first time since the war began, adding that his forces were successfully stabilizing the situation in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
Beginning last week, Russian forces were advancing steadily in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, as recently approved U.S. aid trickled into the war-torn country. Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence agency, told The New York Times on Tuesday that the situation in the Kharkiv region was "on the edge" and was moving "toward critical" every hour.
Ukrainian leader Zelensky told reporters on Thursday that "the situation has been stabilized by our Defense Forces," local news outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported.
"Today, our Defense Forces have stabilized the Russians where they are now. The deepest point of their advance is 10 kilometers [6.2 miles]. In the directions of some enemy brigades, there is no progress at all; and not was," Zelensky said.
Newsweek has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry for comment by email.
Zelensky also said that his military has enough artillery shells for the first time in two years of war, Ukraine's news agency Interfax reported on Friday.
"For the first time in the years of the war, none of the brigades complain that there is no artillery projectile," Zelensky said, adding that his troops had been talking of ammunition shortages for the past two months.
Moscow's forces kick-started a new attack near Ukraine's Kharkiv region on May 10, dropping guided aerial bombs and forcing residents to flee.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a U.S.-based think tank, noted in its latest analysis of the conflict in Ukraine on Thursday that other Ukrainian officials had reported that its troops are stabilizing the situation along Kharkiv region's northern border. They added that the tempo of Russian offensive operations in the area continues to decrease.
On Thursday, Ukrainian Khortytsia Group of Forces spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nazar Voloshyn said that Kyiv's forces were partially stabilizing the situation in the Kharkiv direction. The Ukrainian General Staff added that its forces have so far denied Russia's tactical objectives to penetrate Ukrainian defenses within the city of Vovchansk, where Russian troops have been focusing their efforts in the past week, the think tank noted.
Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the Kharkiv region's military administration, also said that Ukrainian forces have halted Moscow's troops from actively advancing in the region, and that Kyiv's forces "have regained more favorable positions in some unspecified areas," the ISW added.
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Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more
