Russia launches biggest cross-border attack in 2 years in northern Ukraine

According to CNN on May 10, in the first incident, Russian soldiers penetrated at least 1 km towards the town of Vovchansk. Ukrainian military sources said that the Russian side's purpose was to advance 10 km and create a buffer zone at the border to protect Russian territory from the impact of war.

In an official statement, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry announced that Russian troops, supported by armored vehicles, crossed the border at around 5 a.m. on May 10 (local time), after a day of intensified attacks on the border area with guided bombs and artillery.

The statement added that Ukrainian reserve units have been deployed to strengthen defenses in the area.

Meanwhile, Russian forces have also penetrated 5 km into Ukrainian territory towards the village of Krasne, located about 75 km from the border, west of Vovchansk.

About 2,000 soldiers from four Russian battalions launched a ground attack on Krasne.

Ukrainian officials have not provided much information about the second wave of Russian attacks, although in an update on the evening of May 10, the Ukrainian General Staff mentioned Russian attacks in the Krasne area and two nearby villages.

There are four neighboring villages, including Krasne, that are disputed territories rather than fully controlled by Ukraine.

According to the Ukrainian organization DeepStateMap, which updates the daily developments of the war, the number of Russian soldiers deployed in the two cross-border attacks mentioned above is not enough to advance deeper into Ukrainian territory, but it also shows that Russia has many soldiers deployed along the border, estimated at about 40,000 people.

Asked about the developments, President Zelensky said the Ukrainian military had anticipated the move. “Russia has launched a new wave of counter-offensive actions in the Kharkiv region in the north. Ukrainian soldiers, brigades and artillery have clashed with them there… There is a fierce battle in this area,” he said.

Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkov region military administration, said on Telegram that two civilians were killed in the Russian attack. Residents of border villages were evacuated at the request of the authorities.

These developments mark Russia's largest cross-border ground offensive since Ukraine recaptured Kharkiv in late summer 2022.

These developments also come after several months of Russia increasing air strikes on the city of Kharkov, destroying the entire power generation capacity as well as the city's transformer stations.

Mr Syniehubov insisted that the latest Russian ground attacks did not put the city of Kharkiv at high risk.

However, analysts note that if Russian forces were able to advance further south, it could bring the northern edge of Kharkiv within range of Russian artillery, which can fire about 20 kilometers.

Russia has not commented on the two attacks.