Zelenskyy warns Russia’s Kharkiv offensive may only be ‘first wave’
Al Jazeera
President says Ukraine has a quarter of air defences required to hold front line as Russia advances along northeastern border.
Russia’s offensive in Ukraine’s northeastern border region of Kharkiv may just be the “first wave” in a wider assault, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned as he appealed to allies to send more air defence and fighter jets.
Russian forces, which had made only moderate advances in recent months, launched a surprise assault in the Kharkiv region on May 10 that resulted in their biggest territorial gains in a year and a half.
Zelenskyy conceded on Friday, in an interview with the AFP news agency, that Ukraine only has a quarter of the air defences it needs to hold the front line while the war grinds on.
He said Russian forces managed to advance between five to 10km (3-6 miles) along the northeastern border before being stopped by Ukrainian forces.
On Saturday, Kharkiv’s Governor Oleg Synegubov said “a total of 9,907 people have been evacuated” from the region following a ground attack by Russian troops.
