The Ukrainian commander stated that mistakes caused Russia to quickly enter Kharkov

(Dan Tri) – Ukrainian soldiers pointed out the reason why Russia quickly advanced into the Kharkov area on the border of the two countries in just a few days.

Kharkov was devastated by war (Photo: BI).

Commander of a Ukrainian reconnaissance unit Denys Yaroslavskyi said Kiev’s defense system in Kharkiv was inadequate to deal with Russia’s advance in recent days.

`Ukraine does not have a first line of defense,` Denys Yaroslavskyi told the BBC from Vovchansk on May 12.

Jonathan Beale, the BBC’s military correspondent, said Yaroslavskyi showed him drone footage of Russian troops crossing Ukraine’s northeastern border without encountering any resistance.

Yaroslavskyi, head of Ukraine’s Special Reconnaissance Unit, said that the defense lines that Ukrainian officials claimed to have previously built did not exist on the ground.

Yaroslavskyi said he and his comrades were assigned to the front line in Vovchansk to stop Russia’s advance.

Since the middle of last week, Russia began stepping up attacks on Kharkov, an area close to the border of the two countries.

Ukrainian officials have not commented on Mr. Yaroslavskyi’s comments.

Russia is increasing its attacks on Kharkov (Kharkiv) (Photo: BBC).

Located on Kharkiv’s northeastern border, Vovchansk is one of Ukraine’s closest cities to Russia’s Belgorod region.

Now, Russia is accelerating the pace of its offensive back to Kharkov.

A few days ago, the Ukrainian side estimated that about 30,000 to 35,000 Russian troops had gathered in Kharkov to attack.

Oleksandr Syrskyi, head of the Ukrainian armed forces, said on May 12 that the situation in Kharkiv had `deteriorated significantly`.

It is unclear whether Russia’s goal is to penetrate deep into Kharkov or whether Moscow wants to distract Ukraine, forcing Kiev to put resources into the northeast.

On the other hand, in March, Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned that Moscow could create a `buffer zone` on Ukrainian territory to prevent the Belgorod region from being attacked by Ukraine.

The ISW organization (USA) believes that if Russia wants to advance further into Kharkov, they will need a lot more human resources and weapons.

Previously, Ukrainian soldiers spoke up many times about Kiev’s ability to build defense lines.

Last month, Ukrainian soldiers in Donbass complained that they were in a dilemma in the face of repeated Russian attacks.

According to AP, Russia’s incessant shelling and bombing, Ukraine’s lack of construction equipment, and the slow process have caused the defense reinforcement activity to not reach expectations.