The Belgorod region, the weakest link on the border, has been the target of uninterrupted attacks for two weeks. The Russian army is torn between the defense of its border, which has proved very vulnerable to enemy incursions, and the advance in Donbas.
Kiev says that everything is ready to launch the counteroffensive, whose first step would be to force Russia to withdraw troops from Ukraine in order to protect its territory. Russian troops are now focused on the outskirts of Donetsk, capital of the homonymous region.