ISTANBUL — A top NATO commander stated on Thursday that the number of Russian troops involved in the recent offensive in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region is “insufficient” for achieving a strategic breakthrough.
“The Russians don’t have the numbers necessary to do a strategic breakthrough,” said Gen. Christopher Cavoli, NATO’s supreme allied commander Europe, during a press conference in Brussels following a chiefs of defense meeting of the alliance.
Cavoli emphasized that, beyond lacking sufficient numbers, Russian forces do not possess the skill and capability needed to operate at a scale required for exploiting any breakthrough, though they may achieve local advances.
He expressed confidence in Ukraine’s defensive capabilities, having been in contact with Ukraine’s military leadership. Cavoli assured that Kyiv will hold its defensive line in Kharkiv.
Last Friday, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry reported that Russian forces attempted to breach the country’s defenses in Kharkiv, marking a new front in the over two-year-long conflict primarily focused in the east and south of Ukraine.
Russia has since claimed control of several border settlements in the region, particularly near the city of Vovchansk, approximately 74 kilometers (46 miles) from Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv.–News Desk