While the world's attention is on the advances in Kharkiv, Russia's forces are continuing to exploit Ukraine's vulnerabilities in other areas, particularly along a section of the frontline west of the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk.
Since the capture of the industrial town of Avdiivka by Russia in February, Russian forces have been taking advantage of Ukraine's acute shortage of artillery ammunition and manpower deficiencies. This has led to their push into a series of towns and villages in the region.
Ukraine's General Staff, in its latest update, hinted at potential tactical withdrawals in the vicinity of the village of Ocheretyne, which fell into Russian hands earlier this month. The General Staff cited the need to change defense positions in response to intense enemy fire to protect the lives of Ukrainian defenders.
Reports from monitoring groups indicate incremental Russian advances in the area almost daily, inching closer to the strategically important town of Pokrovsk, a key military hub for logistics and supplies in the eastern part of the frontline.
Further to the west, Ukrainian forces are facing pressure southeast of Zaporizhzhia, an area where they had achieved limited success in last summer's counteroffensive. Both Russian military bloggers and Ukraine's monitoring group have documented small Russian gains in a pocket of re-captured Ukrainian territory between the villages of Robotyne and Verbove.
