Russia is currently carrying out an offensive in the Kharkiv region, in northeastern Ukraine, which has allowed Moscow’s troops to break the stalemate that reigned on the battlefield. An enemy advance may have been caused by “treason” or “corruption” within the Ukrainian Armed Forces, according to a military officer from Ukraine who made this suggestion at the start of the month. Now, the country’s government has decided to investigate the matter.
According to the Russian investigative website Meduza.io, Kiev opened a process to investigate the conditions under which the advance of Russian troops occurred. Among other issues, the State Investigation Department says it will look into possible cases of “unfounded withdrawal from combat positions by units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.”
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“During the assault on Ukrainian positions on May 10, 2024, the occupying forces were able to breach the first line of defense and seize multiple settlements near Ukraine’s border with the Russian Federation, causing losses to the Armed Forces and the civilian population,” says the Ukrainian state body when justifying the investigation.
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The statement is compatible with the suspicion raised by a soldier who gave an interview to the BBC. Denys Yaroslavsky, commander of a Ukrainian special reconnaissance unit in Kharkiv, used drone video to support the accusation. It reveals Russians crossing the border into the area and doing so without a military reaction.
“There was no first line of defense. We saw that. The Russians just went in. They just went in without any minefields,” the soldier said. “It was either an act of negligence or corruption. It was not a failure. It was a betrayal.”
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The State Investigation Department says it established a timeline of the Russian attack and found that positions were abandoned and defenses were inadequately organized. The investigation will determine who committed the mistakes and whether there was betrayal on the Ukrainian side.
The Russian offensive did not even catch Kiev’s forces off guard, something that could form a plausible explanation for the defeat. The intelligence services of both Ukraine and Western allies knew that Russia was preparing about 30,000 people to attack, and Russian President Vladimir Putin had expressed his intention to create a buffer zone there that would keep Ukrainians out and make it harder to bomb Russian territory.
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