Ukraine’s second largest city is a tantalizing target Putin wants to take soon

The second largest city in Ukraine is also a tantalizing target for Russia. Kharkiv is just a short distance from the border and represents a possible symbolic win Russia could use to supercharge its war effort. 

During an April 11th interview with German journalist Paul Ronzheimer and other media outlets from the Axel Springer media group, President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed the situation that Kharkiv faces. 

Zelensky said that Vladimir Putin’s goal was to take the whole of the Donbas, meaning he wanted Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts as well as the city of Kharkiv, which Zelesnky said was a “big symbol for him” according to Ukrainform. 

Kharkiv was the first Ukrainian capital according to Zelesnky, which is why capturing the city is a great symbol for Putin. The goal is to capture the city not only because it would be a major win but because it’s all Russia can take. 

Russia has not been able to capture a single regional capital since the invasion began, which is another reason why Kharkiv has become a major goal for Putin. “Kharkiv is a very important goal for him,” he told Ronzheimer. 

“I don't want us to play the Russians' mind game because there's a lot of information that he wants to conquer territories and he will succeed but there is a big difference between what you want and what you can achieve,” Zelensky said. 

“We are doing everything to prevent that from happening,” Zelesnky added. But whether or not Ukraine can stop Russia from capturing Kharkiv is debatable, even with help from the United States and its Western allies. 

Ukraine has been building extensive fortifications around Kharkiv in preparation for a possible Russian offensive and the Head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration Oleh Syniehubov noted some what is under construction. 

Everything from expansive trench networks, dugouts, and shelters were being built in the region along with barrier lines made up of concrete pyramids and anti-tank ditches according to a report from the Ukrainian President’s Office. 

In April, Zelensky visited the fortifications being built in Kharkiv and said in a video address that “strengthening this direction is very important. Russian terrorists must see that Kharkiv is getting stronger” according to Reuters. 

While the threat of a Russian attack on Kharkiv seems credible from the messaging coming out of Ukraine, the Washington-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has assessed that an attack soon probably isn’t likely but added the developing situation is hurting Ukraine's war effort.

“A Russian ground operation against Kharkiv in the very near future is unlikely, but Russian efforts to create strategic reserves and reposition forces in the theater could allow Russian forces to launch an offensive toward the city in the summer. ISW noted. 

However, the threat of a possible offensive against Kharkiv, and the nearby northern city of Sumy, has put Ukraine in a disadvantageous situation when it comes to managing the country’s dwindling resources. 

Ukraine is currently being forced to “redistribute its limited manpower and materiel to the construction of defensive fortifications in those areas and an active Russian operation to seize these cities would only further exacerbate this dynamic,” the ISW noted. 

Russia holds the theater-wide initiative in the war at the moment, and if an attack on Kharkiv doesn’t come, the reallocation of resources could prove to weaken other areas of the front enough for Moscow to achieve a breakthrough elsewhere. 

“Ukrainian forces will likely not be able to contest the theater-wide initiative and more proactively allocate their resources without continuing to address their manpower issues and receiving additional Western aid,” the ISW added.