"The situation is alarming": Budanov on the fighting in Kharkiv region and the occupants' possible offensive on Sumy region

The head of the Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, admitted that the situation in the Kharkiv region is "alarming." Ukrainian troops are trying to move their forces from other parts of the front to strengthen defense in this area.

At the same time, he warned of the threat of an occupation offensive on Sumy region. DIU head said this in a commentary for The New York Times.

Like most Ukrainian officials and military experts, the head of Ukrainian intelligence believes that Russian attacks in the northeast are aimed at distracting Ukrainian reserves from hot spots in Donbas.

"The situation is alarming. Every hour the situation is getting closer to critical," Budanov said from a bunker in Kharkiv region.

According to him, the Ukrainian army is trying to redeploy troops from other parts of the front line to strengthen its defense in the northeast, but it has been difficult to find personnel.

"All our forces are either here or in Chasiv Yar. I have used everything we have. Unfortunately, we have no one else in reserve," Budanov said.

General Budanov estimated that Ukrainian troops will be able to strengthen their positions and stabilize the front over the next few days. But he expects Russia to launch a new attack further north of Kharkiv, on the Sumy region.

The offensive on Vovchansk happened after warnings from Ukrainian officials that Russia was concentrating forces on the border with a view to launching a new offensive in the northeast. Those warnings became a reality early Friday morning when Russian troops crossed the border in two main lines: one directly north of Kharkiv and the other about 12 miles east, around Vovchansk, the NYT reported.

Military experts and Ukrainian officials say that Russian troops have so far largely advanced through poorly defended and largely unpopulated territory, which explains the relatively rapid progress. They note that the border in northeastern Ukraine has been subject to regular Russian shelling throughout the war, making it difficult to establish fortified positions and forcing many civilians to evacuate.

As reported, NSDC Secretary Oleksandr Lytvynenko said that Russia has gathered about 50 thousand occupants on the border with Kharkiv region, of which more than 30 thousand are involved in the offensive to the north of the region. He admitted that there are "a lot of invaders," but there is no threat of an attack on Kharkiv as of today.

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