(Dan Tri) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Ukraine needs to admit reality and the West should stop sacrificing Kiev for its goals.
Ukrainian soldiers in Kharkiv (Photo: Getty).
`It is time for the Kiev authorities to admit the real situation on the ground. I hope that this message, which has been repeated many times, will be understood and the West will realize that it is time to stop hoping
`We understand very well the capabilities we have, including all developments in the situation around Ukraine,` Mr. Lavrov added.
Previously, in an interview with ABC News on May 16, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky blamed Western countries for the failure of Ukrainian forces to stop Russia’s attack in the Kharkiv region, at the same time.
The Ukrainian leader admitted that Russia may soon take complete control of Kharkov if the West does not quickly provide aid for the new Patriot air defense system.
Top military officials in Kiev also admitted that the current situation is `extremely difficult` and that Ukraine’s military is struggling to hold its ground against Russian forces outnumbered in numbers and weapons.
Location of Kharkiv region (Kharkiv) on the map (Photo: US Department of Defense).
In an interview with the New York Times on May 13, Director of Ukrainian military intelligence Kirill Budanov warned that the precarious situation on the battlefield for Ukrainian forces will worsen in the near future.
According to Mr. Budanov, the clear purpose of these attacks is to erode Ukraine’s reserves.
Ukraine’s military leadership acknowledged Russia’s `tactical successes` in the region, and said it was deploying Ukrainian reserves in response.
CNN last week also gave a serious assessment of the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine, stating that Russia `is said to have made its fastest progress since the first days of the war.`
Based on data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), news agency AFP estimates that Russia has controlled an additional 278km2 of territory in Ukraine, especially in the Kharkiv region.
According to Bloomberg, Kiev has begun deploying more troops to stabilize the northeastern front line, noting that Russia’s offensive may have stretched Ukraine’s already under-armed and outnumbered forces, and
Specifically, from May 9 to May 15, Russia controlled 257km2 in Kharkov alone, northeastern Ukraine and is currently the focus of Russia’s new attack.
Russia once controlled Kharkov from the early days of the conflict, but was pushed back in the fall of 2022. Moscow forces can now easily launch artillery attacks on Kiev’s positions, causing the attack system to collapse.