Second City Kharkiv Urban Battle... Ukraine "Repels Russia" (Comprehensive Report 2)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Ukraine claimed on the 27th that it repelled Russian troops who had entered Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city, after engaging in urban warfare.

According to Reuters, Oleksiy Sinehubov, governor of Kharkiv, stated on the morning of the same day local time, "Enemy Russian military vehicles have entered downtown Kharkiv," adding, "Ukrainian forces are crushing the enemy." Earlier, Anton Herashchenko, advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs, shared videos on social media showing Russian military vehicles passing through Kharkiv's urban area and burning tanks. Ukraine's Special Public Relations and Information Protection Department also released similar footage.

After approaching near Kharkiv, a strategic point, immediately following the invasion of Ukraine on the 24th, Russian forces had not entered within the city limits for four days but launched an all-out attack on this day. However, Governor Sinehubov claimed on social media in the afternoon local time, "Control over Kharkiv is completely ours," stating, "The military, police, and defense forces are fulfilling their roles. We have wiped out the enemies in Kharkiv." Kharkiv, located in northeastern Ukraine, is about 20 km from the Russian border and has a population of approximately 1.4 million. Meanwhile, Russian forces announced that they have encircled Kherson in southern Ukraine near the Black Sea and Berdyansk on the Azov Sea coast, completely blocking entry and exit to both cities.

Some foreign media analyzed that Russia appears to be aiming to control Ukraine's coastline. Securing control over the coast and blocking access to port cities could deal a severe blow to Ukraine's economy. From Russia's perspective, it would also secure a land route to the Crimean Peninsula.

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