As a pressure lever to evacuate Kharkiv, Ukrainian and Western officials are taking the escalating attacks in recent times. Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, has come under a barrage of Russian bombardment over the past month, which has destroyed energy infrastructure and left behind rubble where once homes stood.

The city, whose pre-war population was around 1.5 million, has been under attack since the beginning of the Russian invasion in 2022. The Kremlin’s latest action, however, appears to be a concerted effort to cut off supplies to the city and render it uninhabitable.the officials said on condition of anonymity, as Bloomberg reports in an exclusive report.

The siege of Kharkiv is one of the main axes of Russia’s military operation, which appears to be taking advantage of Ukraine’s reduced forces in air defense, as well as in the army. Putin’s troops are also continuing their nationwide assault on Ukraine’s energy system, while Russian forces are gaining ground on various fronts, with Western officials expressing fears that Kiev’s military is likely to reaches a breaking point.

Russian forces tried to capture Kharkiv in the first days of the invasion, but failedwhich was seen as a victory by most of the city’s Russian-speaking population – who since the start of the war have questioned Putin’s “justification” for the invasion, that Ukrainians and Russians are one people.

But it’s been over two years since the Russian president invaded Ukraine, living conditions in Kharkiv are becoming more and more dangerous. The attacks continue unrelenting and the damage is so extensive that the authorities will have to be pressed to restore it in time before the coming of next winter.

Earlier this month, Ukraine’s interior minister warns of ‘hostile disinformation’ allegedly citing alerts that Kharkiv is being evacuated as Russian troops surround it.

“The Russian invaders, unable to achieve what they want on the battlefield, are trying to sow panic and chaos in Ukrainian society” wrote o minister on Telegram on April 2.

Almost however, no one seems to predict that Kremlin forces will be able to capture the city any time soonwhile officials from Volodymyr Zelensky’s environment estimate that Russia does not have enough forces to mount a serious attack. This prompted them to create a sense of panic, they pointed out.