Ukraine predicts a “critical phase” at the front in May-June, but the White House does not expect a Russian breakthrough. 

According to the Ukrainian Ground Forces Commander, Oleksandr Pavliuk, the next two months are a critical phase at the front. Military aid from the US has only just begun to arrive on the contact line, so Russian generals are “throwing all the combat equipment they have to check the exhausted Ukrainian troops”.

He emphasized that Ukraine urgently needs to strengthen its air defense, and the expected delivery of F-16 fighter jets in early June will be a significant “psychological boost”.

“Russia knows that when we receive sufficient weapons within a month or two, the situation can turn against them,” Pavliuk noted.

In the last week, Russian forces have already started a new wave of offensive actions in the Kharkiv region, advancing one km in the Vovchansk district. The invaders want to push Ukrainian forces away from the border to create a 10-kilometer buffer zone in the Kharkiv Region.

The White House expects Russia to step up its offensive in Ukraine but is confident in Kyiv’s capabilities and doubts that Moscow will achieve serious success on the battlefield.