Russian advance grinds to a halt outside Kharkiv amid peace summit fears
Russian troops have stalled outside Kharkiv. Their offensive seems futile as the enemy has been fiercely attacking Ukrainian positions on the front for weeks. Moscow is, therefore, bringing in reinforcements from other parts of besieged Ukraine. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba emphasized that Russia fears the upcoming peace summit in Switzerland.
4:11 PM EDT, June 8, 2024
Saturday, June 8, marks day 836 of the war in Ukraine. According to the National Resistance Center (CNS) of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, the Russians are making no progress around Kharkiv. The aggressor's army is, therefore, bringing in reinforcements from the Kherson region and is urging civilians from occupied areas to join the military.
This is another crime by the occupiers, who are mobilizing the local population to fight against their own homeland – the CNS statement emphasized.
Such actions by the Russians are seen in Ukraine as an act of desperation. The operation to capture Kharkiv by the aggressor so far has been a complete failure. Ukrainians have employed a deep defense tactic, effectively surprising and stopping the Russians.
The Ukrainian army, rearmed with supplies of weapons and ammunition from the West, is handling defense better and better. They are not allowing the Russians much leeway. Desperate aggressors have to bring reinforcements to the front near Kharkiv.
With each new delivery of Western weapons to Kyiv, the situation of the Russian army in the Kharkiv region seems increasingly problematic. In the past 24 hours, the occupiers have lost 130 soldiers, a tank, several artillery systems, vehicles, and dozens of drones in this area, reports RMF FM.
The Russians would like to gain as much advantage as possible before the upcoming peace summit in Switzerland. As of the planned June 15-16 meeting, 106 countries have confirmed their presence. Russia's representatives will be absent—they were not invited out of concern about disrupting the meeting.
We are pleased with the hysterical atmosphere prevailing in Moscow because of the peace summit. We see it in their actions and efforts to disrupt the summit. They understand that what is at stake is the Russian myth of dividing the world into Europe and America, which support Ukraine, and the rest of the world, which supports Russia – said Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
The goal of Ukraine is to implement Volodymyr Zelensky's peace formula – concluded Dmytro Kuleba. The President of Ukraine will agree to peace, but only if the Russians leave Ukrainian territories for good and return them to Kyiv.
