Russia is not currently seeking to seize Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, President Vladimir Putin has said.
“Such projects do not exist today,” he said at the end of his visit to China.
But he stressed that Russian forces were advancing into the northeastern region of Kharkiv to create a “security zone” for the region bordering Russia.
Mr. Putin has talked about such a zone before, but his public comments have not always reflected his goals in Ukraine.
Ukraine says the front line has stabilized, admitting that Russia has occupied a number of border villages.
Russia launched its offensive in the region last week and heavy street fighting has been reported in recent days in the key town of Vovchansk, near the Russian border.
On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian troops had only managed to advance as far as the first of three Ukrainian defensive lines in the region.
Similar comments were made by Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, who said that “the enemy has expanded the active combat zone to almost 70 km (43 miles)” in the region.
Overnight, Kharkiv – which had a population of nearly 1.4 million before the war – was again the target of Russian drone attacks and bombings, local officials said. The technological and industrial center is located approximately 30 km from the Russian border.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor is now in its third year, and there is currently no indication that the war – Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II – could end any time soon.
