UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, Aug 1 — President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with French media on August 1 that he believes that after the Russians failed in the Kharkiv direction, they focused their forces on the Pokrovsk axis.

Russia started its new offensive north and northeast in the Kharkiv region in May, but Ukrainian troops have stabilized the frontline in this section since. Now, heavy battles are ongoing in and around Vovchansk (three miles from the border, 46 miles away from Kharkiv) and near Lyptsi (six miles from the border, 12 miles from Kharkiv.)

According to him, the Russians are currently concentrating the largest number of personnel, weapons, and guided aerial bombs in the Pokrovsk direction. In addition, the Russian army is planning attacks on Kostiantynivka, Toretsk, and Sloviansk in the Donetsk region.

He also noted that today, there are three main reasons why the Russian army manages to advance on the front in different directions.

First, there was an agreement with Ukrainian partner countries to equip 14 reserve brigades for rotations. However, only three have been equipped so far.  

In addition, the Russians can advance because there are restrictions from Ukraine’s partners on the use of Western weapons on military targets in Russia. Also, Russian soldiers continue to move forward because of the threat of death, Zelenskyy said.

Oleksandr Pivnenko, the commander of the National Guard of Ukraine, said in an interview with Ukrinform that Russian troops will no longer be able to conduct active assaults in many directions at once and will go on the defensive.

Pivnenko noted that Russia has already suffered many losses, so they’ll change their tactics and switch to defense in a month, Pivnenko believes. According to the commander, Ukraine has to form and train units during this time.

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  • Since the beginning of the day, the Russian army dropped seven glide bombs (KABs) on the Kharkiv region from the Russian cities of Belgorod and Shebekino, reported the General Staff.