President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that Russiaʼs occupying forces are once again accumulating combat power to attack Kharkiv.
This is stated in a statement by the head of state at the opening of the Global Policy Forum of the Institute for International Political Studies.
"Now the Russian army is trying to gather strength to attack Kharkiv again. We deoccupied it, this oblast. And they want it again, and we see it. And there are one and a half million inhabitants. Mykolayiv is constantly being bombed, with almost half a million inhabitants. They want to capture and completely destroy Slovyansk — there were one hundred thousand inhabitants there before the war," the president said.
Zelenskyy says Ukraine is doing everything possible to stop the occupiers but needs more modern Western weapons.
Later, the head of the Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration Oleh Syniehubov added that the accumulation of Russian troops is recorded — the oblast is preparing for any scenario.
"Since February 24, we have clearly understood that Kharkiv and the oblast are important for the enemy, especially given the way we met him here. And we are doing everything possible to be ready for any scenarios," Syniehubov said.
- The Russian army shells Kharkiv and its environs every day. Last night, June 19, the intensity of shelling increased.