Vladimir Putin has reportedly been tipped to abandon his goal of reclaiming the entire Kharkiv region after a months-long operation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed that the Russian leader has shifted his attention to the 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 made significant progress so far.
Speaking to French media, President Zelensky said Russian forces were “throwing everything they had” at the eastern city of Pokrovsk rather than the entire Kharkiv region.
He said: “Their main objective is no longer the entirety of the East, Slaviansk is not excluded. “
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Slovyansk is a small city on the border between the Kharkiv region and the northern 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 that its offensive has failed and Prelim’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, insists that the offensive continues.
Peskov said: “This operation is ongoing and will continue until it is effectively completed. “
However, the arrival in Ukraine of the long-promised F-16 fighter jets would possibly push Putin to abandon 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 the deployment of used F-16s in Ukraine, although the United States will not supply any of its own aircraft.
Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway have pledged to supply Ukraine with more than 60 copies in the coming months, in what could be a slow delivery.
Peskov downplayed the impact that F-16s could have and stressed that the planes are not a “magic pill” that could replace the course of the conflict.
He added that the Russian government has already offered rewards to army workers who destroy the F-16s.
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