Moscow (EFE).- The Russian Ministry of Defense insisted today that its troops continue advancing in the northeastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, an offensive for which several NATO countries, including the US, have authorized Kiev to use of its weapons against targets in Russian territory.
Units of the Sever Group (North) “continued their advance” between enemy lines in Kharkov, according to the morning Defense war report.
In addition to causing casualties to the Ukrainian mechanized brigades in up to six towns in the region, they also repelled five counterattacks by enemy assault units in the towns of Vovchansk, the main border stronghold, and Staritsa.
Likewise, the Západ Group (West) also improved its positions and caused almost half a thousand casualties to the enemy in Kharkiv, the military note adds.
Russia has already taken 28 Kharkiv towns
The Russian Defense Minister, Andréi Beloúsov, assured this week that his Army had taken 28 towns in Kharkiv during the month of May, which had allowed it to advance between 8 and 9 kilometers in that sector of the front.
Since the beginning of the year “the Russian Army began to control 880 square kilometers of territory,” he said, a statement that the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) considers exaggerated in its report on Saturday.
In his opinion, Russian soldiers would have conquered 752 square kilometers in the last five months, a third of them in the last month.
USA and its military aid
Meanwhile, the North American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, assured this week that a part of the latest military assistance package approved by Congress had already reached the ground and had allowed the front to be stabilized.
Blinken even spoke of Moscow’s failure, which would not have achieved its main objective, causing panic and massive success in the second Ukrainian city, Kharkiv.
The United States and Germany gave the green light to kyiv on Friday to launch attacks on Russian territory with the weapons supplied by those NATO countries, joining other allied countries such as the United Kingdom, the Baltic and Scandinavian countries.
Of course, these Ukrainian attacks must be limited to hitting military installations across the border in Kharkiv and will never be able to use long-range missiles against other targets.
The Kremlin denounced on Friday that “attempts are already being made to attack Russian territory with American-made weapons.”
Russian attacks damage two thermal and two hydroelectric plants
On the other hand, Russian drone and missile attacks on the night of Friday to Saturday against various targets of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have caused significant damage to at least two thermal and two hydroelectric power plants.
The company Ukrhydroenergo reported through its Telegram channel that energy facilities in five regions of Ukraine were attacked, including two hydroelectric plants, while nearby infrastructure was also damaged.
Meanwhile, the DTEK company reported damage to two thermal power plants.
The Ministry of Energy announced that the night attacks have also caused consumers in the regions of Kharkiv (northeast), Poltava (center) and Ivano-Frankivsk (west) to be partially disconnected from the electricity supply.
Last night, the Ukrainian Defense Forces intercepted 35 missiles of different types and 46 ‘Shahed’ type drones launched by the enemy, out of a total of 53 missiles and 47 drones, according to Air Force Commander Mikola Oleschuk.
