According to the United States, Russia’s offensive in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine has stalled and is unlikely to make further progress. This statement comes at a key moment in the war, when Moscow’s forces have attempted to take advantage of delays in the delivery of US military aid to gain ground. John Kirby, White House national security spokesman, said the arrival of American weapons has helped turn the tide of the battle around Kharkiv, where Russian troops launched a major attack in mid-May. “They have been able to thwart Russian advances, especially around Kharkiv,” Kirby noted.
The US official was forceful in asserting that “the Russians have really stalled there.” [y]…their advance is practically over because they ran into the first line of defenses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and basically stopped, if not turned back, some units.”
Zelensky and Biden’s meeting
Despite acknowledging that Ukraine remains under intense pressure, Kirby stressed that “they seem to have stalled,” in an assessment shared by Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Joe Biden during their meeting in France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
At that meeting, Biden apologized for the months-long delay in providing new U.S. military aid to Ukraine, a factor that Washington and kyiv say has led to Russian advances on the battlefield, including in Kharkiv and the region. eastern Donetsk.
The Russian offensive in Kharkiv came just as Ukraine was beginning to receive new military assistance from the United States. Moscow sought to take advantage of the delay in the arrival of more weapons and defenses to gain ground before aid arrived in full force.
This renewed push raised fears that Ukraine would be overwhelmed while also fending off advancing Russian forces in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Although Russia made some gains in Kharkiv early in the offensive, troops are still engaged in fighting north of the offensive, including major battles around the city of Vovchansk.
In his D-Day speech on Thursday, Biden said it was vital to once again defend democracy and freedom, as the Allies did in World War II, and compared the fight against Nazi Germany to Russia’s current assault on Ukraine.
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