Ukraine war: On the Kharkiv front as Russia advances again

A senior Ukrainian defence official told the BBC that the latest US military aid package will only be enough for it to continue defensive operations until the end of this year.

In other words, not enough to launch a more costly and difficult offensive to try to take back territory.

Oleksandr Merezhko said the recent US military aid package “only gives us a better chance to survive and hold the front line.” What Ukraine needed, he said, was a commitment to long-term and continuous support.

The lack of weapons has been made worse by hesitations over what the West is willing to supply.

Lt General Romanenko says Ukraine’s air force should have already been bolstered by F-16 jets. He calls the delay “cowardice”.

There are similar frustrations over the use of Western-supplied long-range weapons. The US does not want them being fired into Russian territory. Mr Merezkho says, “If we are limited to only using them in our own territory, we’ll just bleed.”

He believes the direction of the war will only change when Russia feels the consequences of the war at home.

Back on the frontline, Anton says Ukraine had observed the build-up of Russian forces over the border. He says if they’d been targeted early, “We could have prevented this offensive.”