Vladimir Putin has reportedly been hinted at abandoning his goal of reclaiming the entirety of the Kharkiv region after a months-long operation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed that the Russian leader has shifted his attention further east and will possibly soon order his troops to withdraw from the region.
Russia has deployed thousands of troops to the partially occupied region from the north, but has so far made significant gains.
Speaking to French media, President Zelensky said Russian forces were “throwing everything they had” at the eastern city of Pokrovsk than at the entire Kharkiv region.
He said: “Their main target is no longer the whole of the East, even if Slovyansk is excluded. “
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Slaviansk is a small town on the border between the Kharkiv region and the north of the Donetsk region.
Since May, Russian troops have been trying to break through the Ukrainian defensive lines in Kharkiv with the aim of seizing the city of the same name, the second largest in Ukraine.
Russia has denied the failure of its offensive and Prelim spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted that the offensive continues.
Peskov said: “This operation is underway and will continue until its effective completion. “
However, the arrival in Ukraine of the long-promised F-16 fighter jets would possibly push Putin to give up his aspirations for Kharkiv in the short term.
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The fighter jets are expected to soon begin conducting raids over Ukraine’s skies and provide a much-needed touch to the existing fleet of Soviet-era aircraft running to counter the Russian invasion.
Joe Biden gave the green light in August 2023 to deploy used F-16s in Ukraine, although the United States will not supply any of its own aircraft.
Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway have committed to supplying Ukraine with more than 60 copies in the coming months, in what could be a slow delivery.
Peskov downplayed the effect it could have on the F-16s, emphasizing that the planes are not a “magic pill” that could simply replace the course of the conflict.
He added that the Russian government has already offered rewards to military personnel who destroy F-16s.
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