War in Ukraine: Why the West does not want Kharkiv to be lost – The Three Fronts – Maps

The battles are now taking place on three major fronts Ukrainewith Russian forces gaining more and more ground, at the same time as the risk of a more general escalation and involvement of NATO has risen to its highest level to date, following the “green light” of the US and its allies – with important exceptions, however – in Kiev to use Western weapons on Russian soil.

The staffs of NATO and by extension the USA and the other great powers believe that the capture of the Kharkiv area by Russia will mark the beginning of the end of the war, with Moscow victorious, while it is already heard that the next target will be Odessa, so that on the one hand it will be completely cut off from sea ​​of ​​Ukraine and on the other hand to create a large zone between Ukraine and Russian territory.

Russia opened a new front in Kharkiv, during which the West blatantly ignored Volodymyr Zelensky’s pleas for help. The outbreak of an equally serious crisis in the Middle East and the involvement of Iran has diverted the attention of Western powers away from the war in Ukraine, proving that even such a powerful and large coalition as NATO does not have the ability, or even “forced”, to support two major wars simultaneously.

For analysts, her “surprise” attack of Russia in the Kharkiv region it was not… so surprising. The Russians had been involved in Kharkiv since the beginning of this major crisis and from that area they directed their army towards the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. Kharkiv, therefore, was and still is a highly strategic area for the Kremlin’s plans, and its recapture by the Ukrainian forces had created not a few problems for Moscow and its leadership.

Therefore, the resumption of operations in Kharkiv was -strategically- an expected move, much less at the moment when the Western powers had essentially left the Ukrainian army to its fate for a long time, without resupply and substantial support.

Analysts characterize the re-invasion of Kharkiv as an “example” of Russia exploiting Ukraine’s vulnerabilities: insufficient manpower, artillery shortages, sparse air defenses and inadequate defensive fortifications.

However, the major battle fronts are three and it seems that they are not being fought by chance:

The Kharkiv front

The Russian attack took the Ukrainians by surprise or caught them in a… forced hypnosis, precisely because of the laziness and inaction of the West in recent months.

Russian troops invaded Kharkiv and advanced – essentially without resistance – inland, occupying strategically important areas.
Since then, Russia has stepped up its attacks in the region as it tries to take control of the key settlements of Bovchansk and Lipsti.

Liptsi, located about 30 kilometers north of Kharkiv, is under heavy siege, with constant shelling. The capture of Lipsti will allow Russian troops to place their artillery within range of the city of Kharkiv, essentially opening a new, much more dramatic chapter in the Ukrainian war.

The offensive also allows Russia to divert already limited Ukrainian resources away from other front lines and create a buffer zone from Ukrainian attacks in Russian border areas. The nearby Russian city of Belgorod, for example, has come under increasing attack from Ukraine in recent months.

The front of the east – Avdiivka and Bakhmut

Prior to the attack on Kharkiv, Russia had largely concentrated its offensive operations in the east. Seizing Ukraine’s eastern industrial belt, the Donbass, remains a major goal of the Kremlin.

In February, Moscow troops scored a major success on this front when they captured the town of Avdiivka. Since then, Russian troops have made steady progress westward toward Pokrovsk, which serves as a vital military hub in Ukraine’s war effort.

A few tens of kilometers to the north, the city of Bakhmut was recaptured by the Russians in the spring of 2023 after a fierce nine-month battle. Now, Russian forces are moving west towards Chasiv Yar. Control of the area brings Russian troops closer to the strategic city of Kramatorsk.

The southern front in the village of Robotyne

Further south, Ukrainian forces are under pressure southeast of Zaporizhia, one of the few areas where they had success, albeit modest in size, in last summer’s counteroffensive.

Robotyne, a tiny village now completely destroyed, changed hands several times during the war. It was first seized by Russian forces in early March 2022, and Moscow reasserted control earlier this month, which Ukraine denied.