UKRAINE, KHARKIV REGION, May 17 — The Russian Federation keeps attacking, building up manpower, and using different types of armored vehicles in the Kharkiv region, but less intensively, said Yurii Fedorenko, commander of the Achilles battalion of the 92nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, on Ukrainian TV.

The Achilles battalion is helping to repel a Russian invasion near Vovchansk, Kharkiv region.

“The Defense Forces successfully burned most of the [Russian] equipment involved in the assault [through common effort], using anti-tank weapons, artillery, and, of course, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Currently, the fighting is ongoing, and the enemy is not having any tactical success on the battlefield. Instead, the Defense Forces improved their positions in some areas. Now we can say that we are very close to fully controlling the situation in the area where we are [engaged in our] combat missions,” said Fedorenko.

On May 10, Russia launched a new ground offensive north and northeast of the Kharkiv region. The border communities came under heavy Russian bombardment and artillery shelling. 

The General Staff says Russia is still trying to break through the defense of Ukrainian units in the Shebekino — Vovchansk direction.

Over the past day, Ukrainian troops repelled 10 Russian attacks near Lyptsi, Starytsia, and Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region. There were 10 combat engagements in the Kharkiv sector over the past day.

Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (HUR), said in an interview with the New York Times, published on May 14, that Ukrainian forces will be able to stabilize the front in the Kharkiv region within “three to four days.”

As analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on May 15, the pace of the Russian offensive is slowing down.

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  • Russia started an offensive on Kharkiv earlier than planned, after noticing Ukrainian troops regrouping, but they didn’t manage to break through Ukrainian defense, wrote Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on his Telegram.