Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin has assessed the situation in Kharkiv region as grave and dangerous for Ukraine.
He made this statement before a meeting of the contact group for military assistance to Ukraine.
Austin said the meeting was taking place at a “difficult moment” and that Russian troops “will try to move in the coming weeks” to create a sanitary zone.
“This is a tough and dangerous fight,” TASS quoted the US defence secretary as saying.
President Vladimir Putin earlier linked the operation of Russian troops in the Kharkiv direction to the need to create a sanitary zone, the blame for this lies with the Ukrainian side, which has been shelling the border regions.
On 18 May, it became known that a group of the Russian Armed Forces liberated Staritsa in Kharkiv Region and continued advancing deep into the enemy’s defence.