On May 10, Russian occupation forces crossed the state border of Ukraine and began military operations in the north of the Kharkiv region, where intense fighting is taking place. The Kremlin is using considerable forces in the offensive, regardless of its own losses. For example, in just one day on May 13, about two thousand Russian military personnel died. Since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion, the number of human losses of the aggressor state is about half a million.
According to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the offensive in the Kharkiv region is a consequence of the ban for Ukraine to use Western weapons on Russian territory. International partners are already beginning to realize their mistake. Thus, at the beginning of May 2024, the heads of the foreign policy departments of the Republic of Latvia and the United Kingdom stated that their governments not only provided the Armed Forces of Ukraine with new batches of weapons, but also allowed using these weapons inside the internationally recognized territory of the Russian Federation. A similar permission was given by several Western states, whose governments refused to announce this, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia admitted.
“Ukraine is allowed to use it all under international law. If Russia is attacking Ukraine, Ukraine has a right to strike them back,” Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže said.
Of course, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will not repeat the criminal actions of the Kremlin aggressor, who regularly shells the civilian population, wipes out peaceful Ukrainian cities, and destroys civilian infrastructure. Ukrainians need permission to strike Russian territory solely to protect their state and restore their territory within the 1991 borders. For this it is necessary to destroy Russian military airfields, missile launchers, drone launch sites, ammunition and fuel and lubricant warehouses and other military facilities located in the border regions of the Russian Federation.
Russian occupation forces daily attack Kharkiv and the Kharkiv region with guided bombs, drones and other weapons. Putin actually wants to turn the million-plus city into an uninhabited “gray zone”. The Kharkiv region is one of the regions of Ukraine most affected from Russian aggression. Over the past few days, more than 6 thousand civilians have already been evacuated from there. The Ukrainian authorities provide humanitarian, medical, psychological and legal assistance to them. However, this evacuation is very difficult, as mostly elderly and disabled people remained in the populated areas.
(photo by Andrey Marienko)
The international community, of course, also does not stand aside. Thus, according to Die Welt, the EU Ambassadors have already agreed on a document on security guarantees for Ukraine, which provide comprehensive assistance, diplomatic support, sanctions, supply lethal and non-lethal weapons, host displaced persons, support reforms and restoration of Ukraine, as well as consultations in case of new aggression by the Russian Federation.
Ukraine cannot wait…The Russian aggressor does not stop. There should be no delays in the supply of weapons and/missile defense systems from Ukraine’s allies. Thus, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that there had been a cost in the delay in aid for Ukraine, referring to the situation in the Kharkiv region. However, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are capable of effectively holding positions in the east of the country. “We’re doing everything we can to rush this assistance out there. The Europeans are doing the same,” Blinken said.
Ukraine’s partners must be consistent in their commitments to Ukraine and demonstrate strong determination to support it in its struggle for freedom and sovereignty. The pressure on the Kremlin must be constant and comprehensive to weaken it systematically — this is in the interests of the civilized world. Assistance to Ukraine must continue and be sufficient to defeat the aggressor.