Ukraine 'Ready for Any Scenario' as Russia Sets Sights on New Target

Ukrainian troops are preparing for "any scenario" in the south of the country's Kharkiv region, Kyiv's military insists, after Ukrainian sources warned Russia is preparing to launch a new push across the border from the eastern Luhansk region.

Kyiv's fighters are "ready for any scenario and development," Lieutenant Colonel Nazar Voloshyn, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Khortytsia grouping of forces in the east of the country, told Newsweek on Thursday.

Deep State, a popular Ukrainian war blog, said on Tuesday that Russia was accumulating around 10,000 soldiers and 200 artillery systems close to the Kharkiv village of Borova.

Borova sits west of the Russian-controlled Luhansk city of Svatove, south of the Kharkiv settlement of Kupiansk. It was swept under Russian control in Moscow's initial invasion push in early 2022, but Ukrainian forces retook Borova as part of Kyiv's counteroffensive in October of that year.

The Centre for Defence Strategies, a Ukrainian think tank, said on Wednesday that Russia's army was supported by special forces and "private military company units" attempting to "capture Borova." The term "private military company" has typically been shorthand for mercenary forces fighting in the war in Ukraine.

Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said on Tuesday that Russia was hoping to capture the Kharkiv village of Cherneshchyna and Pershotravneve, a settlement north of Cherneshchyna just over the border of the Luhansk region. Moscow would then advance onto Borova, the brigade said.

Russian forces, along with armored vehicles and artillery, were using first-person view (FPV) drones, guided aerial bombs and chemical weapons, the brigade added in post to messaging app Telegram. "The enemy is sending entire platoons and companies of personnel to storm our positions."

In early May, Russia launched a new cross-border offensive into the north of the Kharkiv region, while Ukraine warned Moscow hoped to divide up and overstretch Kyiv's resources and claim gains in the eastern Donetsk region.

Russia quickly gained a smattering of settlements along two chunks of the border. Moscow's pushes focused around the village of Lyptsi—within around 20 miles of the regional capital, Kharkiv City—and the border city of Vovchansk.

Ukraine then reported intensified fighting in Donetsk, with Russia making small but steady gains along this section of the hundreds of miles of front line territory.

But fighting has continued south of Kupiansk, including just west of the Luhansk cities of Kreminna and Lysychansk.

"Ukrainian defenders are trained and motivated, they know what they are fighting for," Voloshyn said. Ukraine's military leadership "knows everything about the enemy in that area" and will plan accordingly, he added.

Ukraine's General Staff said in an operational update at 7 p.m. local time on Thursday that Russia had dropped six KAB-guided aerial bombs across the border on areas including Vovchansk and Lyptsi.

Russia's Defense Ministry said on Thursday that it had "continued to advance" in northern Kharkiv, targeting Ukrainian forces in several settlements, including Vovchansk and Lyptsi. A separate grouping of Russian forces "occupied more advantageous positions" at several points east of Kupiansk and down to the Luhansk border with Donetsk, Moscow said, adding it had "repelled" two counterattacks from Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade.

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