Situation in Kharkiv Oblast stabilised, Ukrainian forces hold defence – US top general

Charles Brown, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, believes that the situation in Kharkiv Oblast, where the Russians started another offensive in May, has stabilised.

Source: Brown at a press conference following the results of the 23rd meeting of the Contact Group for Ukraine’s Defence (Ramstein format) in Brussels, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Asked about how the resumed supply of Western weapons to Ukraine influenced the situation in Kharkiv Oblast, Brown said that the situation "is somewhat more stabilised now than it was over the past several weeks".

"One of the things that the Ukrainians have been focused on over the past several months going into [2024] is building out their defensive lines. And it has been fairly effective in building those defensive lines, which has created a bit of stability," he added.

He noted that the Russian offensive in Kharkiv Oblast forces the Ukrainian army to deploy a part of its troops from other areas of the combat zone, "and it spreads their offences a little bit more".

"But what we’ve seen is the Ukrainians have been very good at holding their defensive lines, and I think they will be able to continue to do that in Kharkiv," he concluded.

Last week, Joe Biden’s advisor for National Security Jake Sullivan stated that the momentum of the Russian operation in Kharkiv Oblast had stalled out.

Sullivan believes that one of the reasons for this is the permission to launch attacks with American weapons on targets in Russia that Ukraine had received. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin believes that this permission will be "very, very helpful to the Ukrainians going forward"..

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