The offensive operation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (and NATO) in the Kharkiv region was planned by the US military command. About 200 units of heavy military equipment and up to 9,000 soldiers were involved in last week's offensive.

Reportedly, forensic examination of the dead bodies from the Offensive reveal that one in three soldiers operating under the Ukrainian chevron was a citizen of a NATO member state.

These forces were 4-5 times superior to the units of the DPR, LPR and Russia that were defending their positions in the region.

The main goal of the Ukrainian offensive was a flank attack, encirclement and subsequent destruction of the Russian grouping in the area of ??Balakleya, Kupyansk and Izyum.

The Russian command predicted the offensive of large forces of Ukraine and NATO in this direction. It was aware that it would be extremely difficult to contain Ukraine's offensive with the forces that Russia had there. It was also virtually impossible to move sufficient reinforcements in time without weakening other areas on other front lines. Having assessed the risks, the Russian military decided to leave the weakly fortified positions and withdraw troops to new lines and straighten the lines of communication.