The Russian army do has a plan to capture Kharkiv or Sumy. However, it is not known whether they are able to implement these plans with the available forces.
Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavlyuk, Commander of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said this in an interview with The Times.
"Our intelligence services say that the Russians do have a plan to capture Kharkiv or Sumy, but we do not know how serious these plans are and whether they are able to implement them with the forces at their disposal," the general said.
Commenting on a possible Russian offensive in May-June, Pavlyuk said that the Russians would probably try to find a weakness in the Ukrainian defence and try to break through it.
He added that in recent months, the situation at the front has become significantly more complicated. According to intelligence, the Russian invaders' goal for this year is to occupy Donetsk and Luhansk Regions, as well as Zaporizhzhya Region if they succeed.
"The main goal is to destroy Ukraine and Ukrainians as a nation. We have not given them this opportunity since 2022. Therefore, in our opinion, the real goals they set for themselves are the occupation of Donetsk and Luhansk Regions, and, if successful, Zaporizhzhya Region," Pavlyuk said.
At the same time, he believes that a military aid package from the United States, combined with renewed European support, could not only blunt the Russia's offensive in the summer, but also possibly give Ukraine a strategic initiative.
"With good air defence and long-range artillery, we could take this strategic advantage from the Russians on the battlefield," Pavlyuk said.