UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, Feb. 4 — Russian forces are trying to create a “buffer zone” north of the Kharkiv oblast, said Bohdan Petrenko, a spokesperson of the 48th Artillery Brigade, to Gwara Media.

According to Petrenko, Russians are trying to infiltrate different areas along the Russia-Ukraine border, including northern Kharkiv oblast.

Petrenko said that Russians have tried to seize border villages in Kharkiv oblast for the past year, but “we (Ukrainian forces) won’t let them do that.”

Petrenko said that creation of a “buffer zone” makes no practical sense, since the so-called “kill zone” currently spans 20 kilometers (~12 miles) and could expand to 30–40 kilometers (~19-25 miles) in the future.

On the Vovchansk and Velykyi Burluk axes, Russian forces are accumulating personnel and not using heavy equipment, the spokesperson said.

“I recently spoke with the commander of one of the units. I asked, ‘What about the (Russian) tanks?’ He replied, ‘I haven’t seen any tanks in a long time.’ Russians use artillery, but they don’t dare bring it close to the frontline,” said Petrenko.

Earlier, Mykhailo Drapatyi, the Commander of the Joint Forces of the Ukrainian Army, said that Russian forces want to create a 20-kilometer (12.4 miles) “buffer zone” near the border in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions, which is why they are seizing border villages.

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