Heavy fighting with Russian troops is ongoing along the entire front line, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 10 after listening to Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi's report.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry reported earlier in the day that Russian forces launched an attempt to break through in Kharkiv Oblast. Zelensky later confirmed that Russia was carrying out new offensive operations in the area.
Following claims in the media that Russian troops captured several villages in Kharkiv Oblast as they attempt to push toward Vovchansk, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said that hostilities are ongoing in border areas but that no ground was lost at that moment.
"Russian troops attempted to expand operations against Ukraine. We understand the size of the (Russia's) forces and see their plan," Zelensky said in his evening address.
Zelensky and Syrskyi reportedly discussed strengthening the positions of the Ukrainian military in Kharkiv Oblast, as well as Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast.
The Ukrainian army struck back at Russian forces, the president said. Syrskyi said that decisions were taken that "will give more opportunities to our soldiers," according to Zelensky.
"We are sending more troops to the Kharkiv sector. Both along our state border and along the entire front line, we will invariably destroy (Russian forces) in such a way as to disrupt any Russian offensive intentions," the president added.
Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson of the Khortytsia group of forces, said that the uptick in Russia's activity at Kharkiv Oblast's border is part of a psychological operation aimed at pulling Ukrainian troops away from "hot" areas in the east.
Voloshyn reported that Russian forces are also unsuccessfully trying to break through in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, namely near the Serebryanskyi forest and in the Lyman area.
Kateryna Denisova
(Updated: )
