Experts warn of what will happen to Ukraine's 'second capital'
(Baonghean.vn) - Military analyst Jacob Parakilas told Newsweek magazine (USA) that thanks to its location near the border and the weakness of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russia could control Kharkov in the next few months.
According to RIA Novosti, Newsweek magazine said that Kharkov has a very important symbolic meaning for Ukraine. In early April 2024, President Volodymyr Zelensky called Kharkov "one of the capitals" of Ukraine.
Kharkov is less than 20 miles from the Russian border, so a “slow, but devastating attack” could see Russia take control of the city “within months,” according to military analyst Jacob Parakilas, a senior fellow at RAND’s strategy, policy, and defense research group.
According to expert Parakilas, the position near the border with Kharkov gives Russia an advantage in supporting the advancing troops, while Ukrainian forces have been worn down and weakened over time.
The Ukrainian president asserted that Kiev is "doing everything possible" to prevent Russian forces from entering and taking control of Kharkiv.
“In case of an attack, can the Ukrainian defense forces defend Kharkiv without US military support? Yes, we can!” Colonel Andriy Zadubinnyi, from Ukraine’s Khortytsia forces operating in the northeast, said, but the colonel admitted that it would cost tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers’ lives.
Aside from the Ukrainian authorities’ determination to defend Kharkiv, there are pressing questions about how long the Ukrainian Armed Forces can hold out in and around Kharkiv without significant US military support; and whether Russia is determined to seize control of the city.
