Russia has expanded the zone of active hostilities by almost 70 km

The Russian occupation forces expanded the area of active hostilities by almost 70 kilometers and launched an offensive ahead of schedule when they noticed the movement of Ukrainian troops.

This was stated by Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi.

“The enemy has expanded the area of active combat operations by almost 70 kilometers, thus trying to force us to use an additional number of brigades from the reserve,” he said in a statement.

The enemy focused its main efforts on the direction of Strilecha - Liptsi and the capture of Vovchansk, with further advancement to Bilyi Kolodyazh and the development of an offensive to the rear of our troops.

According to him, for this purpose, the enemy created and significantly strengthened the operational and tactical grouping of troops “North,” which included combat units of the 6th Army, 11th and 44th Army Corps.

In addition, the enemy launched an offensive earlier than planned, having noticed the redeployment of our troops, but failed to break through our defense.

“However, we realize that there will be heavy fighting ahead, and the enemy is preparing for it. In such circumstances, we must prevent further advancement of the enemy troops by steadily holding the occupied borders and positions, using strikes by aircraft, missile systems, artillery, and tank fire to inflict maximum losses on them, as well as create conditions for defeat by mobile assault groups and units with attacks to the flank and rear from different directions,” added the Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief.

He called for the most effective use of our advantage in attacking UAVs, electronic warfare, and accurate artillery fire.

“I worked in all the brigades fighting in the Kharkiv region, was in one of the battalions defending Vovchansk, and made all the necessary decisions on the spot to ensure the stability and effectiveness of the defense. I toured and checked all the units preparing for defense in the Sumy sector,” he wrote.

Syrsky also said that he regularly reports to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the situation and the progress of these tasks.

It is noticeable that the leadership of the regional military administrations provides maximum assistance to commanders and unit commanders in resolving all problematic issues.

The military added that the residents of the Kharkiv region are actively involved and help the Defense Forces in all possible ways.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 17/05/2024