Experts state why Russia wants to set up a 15km deep buffer zone in Kharkov 0
(Dan Tri) – Moscow has increased its raids on Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, in an effort to create a `security buffer zone` for the Russian border city of Belgorod, the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said.
Ukraine’s Kharkiv city was attacked by missiles (Photo: Reuters).
Pravda news website said on January 10 that Russia is calling on the military to find a way to create a `buffer zone` up to 15km deep in Kharkov province (Ukraine), pushing Ukraine’s firepower as far as possible from the Russian border city of Belgorod.
Belgorod is only about 25km from the Ukrainian border.
Most recently, on December 30, a raid on Belgorod left more than 20 people dead.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said on January 9 that the Russian military will do everything possible to prevent Ukraine’s attacks on Belgorod.
Faced with increasing pressure from these cross-border attacks, Russia is seeking to establish a security buffer zone up to 15km deep in Kharkov (neighboring province in Ukraine).
Russian nationalists also frequently called for a similar operation last summer amid widespread cross-border raids by pro-Ukrainian forces on Belgorod.
According to ISW, to establish a security buffer zone 15km deep and hundreds of kilometers wide, Russia will have to launch a large-scale campaign, requiring larger and better-equipped forces than those deployed at the border.
However, military analysts believe that it is difficult for Russia to conduct a campaign to control most of Kharkiv territory in the near future.
ISW said that Russia may increase efforts to gain control of the town of Kupiansk in Kharkov province in the coming weeks.
The Russian army is currently only able to carry out tactical operations in Kharkov to distract Ukraine’s attention from the Kupiansk front.
Kupiansk is a strategic base for transportation infrastructure, connecting the rail and road networks in northeastern Ukraine.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has entered its 23rd month and shows no signs of abating.
Russia has resumed a large-scale air campaign since the end of 2023 against targets across Ukraine to exhaust Kiev’s air defense system amid a slowdown in aid flows from the West.
