Russia's renewed push toward Kharkiv is initially intended to spread thin and distract Ukrainian forces, but the growing threat it poses to the city and surrounding region will likely become core to Russia's war efforts in 2025 and beyond. On May 10, Russian forces reopened a front north of the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv by attacking two locations in the surrounding region, enabling them to gain a foothold in a number of Ukrainian settlements along the Russia-Ukraine border. Russian troops had besieged Kharkiv -- which is located roughly 30 kilometers south of the Russian border -- earlier in the war, but were forced to retreat in September 2022 as a result of Ukraine's successful counteroffensive. On May 14, the Ukrainian military acknowledged it had withdrawn from the border town of Vovchansk, though fighting continued on the town's outskirts. As of May 17, Russian forces were still advancing toward the...
