26 March 2024, Tuesday, 13:16 1927

Putin plans to finish "Special Military Operation" by capturing Kharkiv, but is ready to go on Kyiv - russian media

Editor: Daria Zubkova

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Russian dictator vladimir putin is set to continue his war against Ukraine to capture Kharkiv and possibly advance on Kyiv. Meduza writes about this with reference to sources from the administration of the president of the russian federation on Tuesday, March 26.

All the publication's sources are sure that putin is going to continue the war, but they differ in their assessment of the goals. One of the interlocutors close to the Kremlin believes that after the unsuccessful counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the russian dictator "felt the weakness of Ukraine and is ready to go even on Kyiv, and the price will not stop him."

"If there will be a need for mobilization - he will announce it. If it is necessary to transfer the economy even more strongly to military lines - he will transfer it. He followed the principle," Meduza quotes one of the sources.

Another interlocutor, close to the administration of the president of the russian federation, believes that the country's top management sets "more realistic goals", namely the capture of Kharkiv and the gradual end of the so-called "Special Military Operation" [SVO, as they call the war in Ukraine - ed.] after that. According to him, putin has already openly said that in order to stop the regular shelling of the Belgorod Oblast, it is necessary to create a "sanitary zone" around it, and this region of the russian federation borders the Kharkiv Region of Ukraine.

Sources of the publication among the "russian elites" reported that high-ranking security forces consider it realistic for the russian army to capture Kharkiv, but they call further progress deep into Ukraine "difficult". At the same time, all sources note: they have no information that a decision on a large-scale attack on Kharkiv has already been made. However, they agree that this is a "quite likely scenario" that could, in theory, require a new wave of mobilization.

Verstka also reported on March 22 on possible plans to attack Kharkiv.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on January 3, the head of the Kharkiv garrison, Brigadier General Serhii Melnyk, said that the aggressor's troops would go on the offensive in the Kharkiv axis as soon as the ground freezes.

On February 15, Serhii Cherevatyi, the spokesman of the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, stated that the Ukrainian military does not rule out and is ready for a new offensive by the russians on Kharkiv and Kupyansk.

On March 22, the commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Pavliuk announced that the russians are creating a group of 100,000 troops for a possible offensive at the beginning of summer.