KHARKIV, UKRAINE, May 6 —  Over the past day, the Ukrainian military repelled 14 attacks in the Kupiansk direction. Russians attacked Synkivka, Pishchane, and Berestove in the Kharkiv Oblast, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports in the morning briefing.

Over the past day, the Russians also hit Synkivka, Vesele, Bilyi Kolodiaz, and Doroshivka in the Kharkiv region and the city of Kharkiv with airstrikes.

Russians are not abandoning their goal of occupying Kupiansk, a city in the Kharkiv region, again. It is a logistics and railway hub between Kharkiv and Luhansk oblasts, and seizing it would allow the Russian army to boost its supply efforts. 

As General Staff informed, in the Slobozhanskyi direction, in the border areas, the Russian military conducts intense sabotage activities to prevent the deployment of Ukrainian troops to more dangerous directions and increases the density of minefields along the state border in the Belgorod Oblast.

Deputy chief of Ukrainian military intelligence agency Vadym Skibitskyi said in an interview with Economist, published on May 2, that Russian troops are preparing for an assault on Kharkiv and Sumy regions, presumably at the end of May or June 2024.

According to him, the timing of the Russian offensive depends on the “strength of the Ukrainian defense” in the Donetsk region.

According to Skibitskyi, currently, Russians have 35,000 troops in their northern grouping “across from Kharkiv” and 514,000 land troops “committed to Ukraine operation” in general. For an assault, Skibitskyi says the grouping “is set to expand to between 50,000 and 70,000 troops.” However, even 70,000 Russian troops are “not enough,” in Skibitskyi’s opinion, to take a major city like Kharkiv. 

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  • The Ministry of Defense has announced the completion of the construction of fortifications in five directions. These are five regions, including Donetsk, where active fighting continues.