"It is quite possible that they will try to intensify their offensive in the Kharkiv sector," he said.
“These two footholds they have created there... They do not plan to capture Kharkiv, or even surround it, because they do not have such forces and means, but they want to come close, to the distance of aimed artillery fire, barrel guns. The main thing [for them] is to stretch our defense line, because we understand that the Russians are more numerous. If we stretch equally, we will be thinner.”
He also pointed out where else the situation could escalate:
"I am sure that they will try to do something in the Sumy sector. It's unlikely that they will try to capture or surround us, but to stretch [our reserves] - yes. The same goes for the Chernihiv and Kyiv sectors – it is quite possible that there will be some provocations there. Just remember what the president of Belarus [Alexander Lukashenko] started to say, and he was again, to use a Polish word, popierdolilo (gone mad - ed.). Again, he began to say that there are plans to attack Belarus. This, I understand, explains the increase in troops in Belarus, perhaps as a result of the Belarusian-Chinese exercises that took place there."
But the enemy is unlikely to be able to conduct offensive actions in the Kyiv and Chernihiv oblasts because the defense there is very dense and the Russians have no chance of breaking through it, Hetman stressed, adding that the main direction of the enemy's attack is different – Kostiantynivka:
"Now we see that their main efforts are coming from three directions – from the north of Chasiv Yar, then a little bit south of Toretsk and, of course, the Pokrovsk sector. ...> They want to approach Kostiantynivka, so these three sectors can be combined into one – Kostiantynivka. We know that this is our railroad hub, and we are actively using it, like any army during the war. And the Russians want to damage our logistics."
The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War reported on June 23, that Russian troops are increasing the pace of their offensive operations in Donetsk Oblast, stepping up the intensity of attacks in the Toretsk-Horlivka direction, where the enemy has not been active throughout 2024. In particular, from the Toretsk direction, Russian troops launched an assault on Chasiv Yar.
Army commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said on July 2 that the active front line had increased in the east.
Nazar Voloshyn, a spokesman for the Khortytsia troop grouping, confirmed on July 4 that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had withdrawn from the Kanal neighborhood of Chasiv Yar, Donetsk Oblast.
The Russian army occupied the village of Yevhenivka in Donetsk Oblast on July 11.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on June 17 that the Ukrainian military was gradually pushing the Russian invasion forces out of Kharkiv Oblast.
The Kharkiv troop grouping reported on July 2 that the Russian army had moved three assault groups to Vovchansk, Kharkiv Oblast, to replenish their losses.