KHARKIV, UKRAINE, Dec 19 — Ihor Terekhov responded to German media outlet Bild’s report on the possible city occupation in 2026 during the United News marathon.
“There is no panic in the city. And I have no panic. I want to say that we have proved to the whole world that Kharkiv is a Ukrainian city. And today Kharkiv lives, works and rebuilds. I want to thank our glorious military, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the territorial defence soldiers who have been defending our land since the beginning of the war and are still defending our land. And we have defended and will continue to defend our glorious city,” Kharkiv mayor added.
Bild analyst Julian Röpcke, citing his sources in German intelligence, published an article a few days ago about possible plans of the Russian army, according to which the Kremlin intends to:
- by the end of 2024 – to completely capture Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as to reach the Oskil River within the Kharkiv region;
- by the end of 2026 – to seize large areas in the east, including the major cities of Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro and Kharkiv;
- in the south, to hold the defence along the Dnipro River, without attacking Kherson or Odesa.
An intelligence source said that all the eastern territories on the left bank of the Dnipro were to be conquered within 36 months. Then, the river will become a new frontline. On the Kherson front line, the Russians plan to hold a defensive position along the Dnipro without advancing to the right bank of Kherson or Odesa.
According to intelligence reports, the Russian government is prepared to lose up to 100,000 soldiers annually in Ukraine.
The battle of Kharkiv was a military engagement that took place from late February to May 2022 in and around Kharkiv in Ukraine, as part of the eastern Ukraine offensive during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Kharkiv, located just 30 kilometers (19 mi) south of the Russia–Ukraine border, is the second-largest city in Ukraine and was considered a significant target for the Russian military early in the invasion.
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- Overall, Nuremberg plans to donate 40 MAN buses to Kharkiv, an essential humanitarian transport aid, as the city has lost 12 buses, 30 trams and more than 20 trolleybuses during the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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