Zelenskyy: Russians have reached only first of three fortification lines in Kharkiv Oblast
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stressed that the Russians have not reached the "concrete line of defence" and that the fact that anyone has said so is "nonsense". The president noted that the Russians had only reached the first line.
Source: Zelenskyy at a meeting with journalists, as reported by Ukrainska Pravda
Details: "The first line is not the border. It is impossible to build [fortifications] there because our people were getting killed by the weapons used by the Russians. They [the Russians – UP] are somewhere around there now. This is the first line, the line that was built in the war, under constant fire, by our military. The first and second lines are built by the military, and the third is built by local authorities. It is the most powerful – not because they are better than the military, but simply because it is further away from weapons, from shells, from bombardment."
Background:
- On 10 May, Russian occupation forces intensified their activities in the north of Kharkiv Oblast. The Russians seized a number of settlements in the grey zone.
- Afterwards, many Ukrainians questioned why the fortifications, which authorities had previously reported building in the eastern oblasts, failed to work. A suspicion arose that no reliable fortifications had been built and the money had been embezzled.
- Amidst these questions, Oleh Syniehubov, Head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, said that reports on fortifications in the oblast were being prepared.
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