Ukraine's Defence Council Secretary: There is no threat of attack on Kharkiv

Oleksandr Lytvynenko, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, has said that Ukraine sees no risk of a Russian attack on Kharkiv despite new offensives in the oblast.

Source: Lytvynenko in an interview with AFP news agency, writes Barron's

Details: Lytvynenko tells the news outlet that fighting is currently ongoing in Kharkiv Oblast, which borders Russia.

Quote: "We can say that we do not see any threat of an attack on the city of Kharkiv."

"But there are a lot of Russians, quite a lot. About 50,000 were at the border. Now there are much more than 30,000 of them."

Details: According to Lytvynenko, the Russian offensive was probably aimed at creating a "buffer zone" to limit Ukraine's ability to strike at Russia's border regions.

Background: 

• On 10 May, it was revealed that Russian occupation troops have intensified their activities in Kharkiv Oblast, and intense battles are ongoing there. The Russians occupied a number of settlements in the grey zone. Ukrainian forces are transferring additional reserves to Kharkiv Oblast.
• The evacuation of civilians from border hromadas of Kharkiv Oblast is ongoing. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories – ed.]

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