Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russia is not currently seeking to occupy Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city.
“There are no such plans today,” he said at the end of his trip to China.
However, he emphasized that Russian troops are advancing in the northeastern region of Kharkov to create a “safe zone” for Russia’s own security.
Ukraine says the front line has been stabilized and acknowledges that Russia has captured some border villages.
Russia launched an offensive in the region last week, with reports of fierce street fighting in the key town of Wovchansk near the Russian border over the past few days.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed on Friday that Russian forces had only succeeded in advancing as far as the first of Ukraine’s three lines of defense in the region.
Ukraine’s top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, made similar remarks, saying that “the enemy has expanded the active combat zone in the region to nearly 70 kilometers (43 miles).”
Kharkiv, a city with a pre-war population of nearly 1.4 million, was once again attacked and shelled by Russian drones overnight, local officials said. The technical and industrial center is located approximately 30 kilometers from the Russian border.
Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor is now in its third year, and there are no signs that the war – Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II – may be ending anytime soon.
