NATO does not know whether Russia has already launched its summer offensive

Christopher Cavoli, Supreme Commander of NATO's Allied Forces Europe, cannot say whether the events in Kharkiv Oblast are the beginning of the previously announced "summer offensive" of Russian troops in Ukraine.

Source: European Pravda, citing Cavoli at a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council on 16 May

Details: Cavoli explained that it is always difficult to predict the enemy's intentions, and at present it can only be said that the Russians are attacking south towards Kharkiv and are seeking to "take back some of the territory that they lost last year in Ukraine's spectacular route of their forces".

Quote: "The exact sequence (of actions — ed.) and how they're going to do that may not be entirely clear yet," the general said.

"Is this the summer offensive, you know, one can never be sure. What we don't see is large numbers of reserves being generated someplace. There is a standard mobilisation that is a semiannual draft call-up going on right now in Russia. But that is largely unrelated to the conflict so far," concluded the Allied Commander Europe.

At the same time, Cavoli and Rob Bauer, Chairman of the Alliance's Military Committee, believe that the Russians will not have enough strength to make a strategic breakthrough in the north of Kharkiv Oblast.

Background: In March, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, revealed that the Russians may be preparing to conduct a new offensive, which is expected late in May or in June. 

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