(Dan Tri) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken believes that Ukraine has the ability to hold the line in the East of the country when Russia launches a new attack on Kharkov.

Russia attacked Kharkov from May 10 (Photo: Getty).

In an interview with CBS News on May 12, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken admitted that the West’s stagnation in aid to Ukraine for many months had `led to consequences`.

`So we are doing everything we can to accelerate this support. Europe is doing the same. Look, I believe Ukraine can hold the line in the east effectively`

The US Secretary of State also believes that Kiev can continue to promote the advantages gained in the Black Sea, `putting Russian forces in danger, including in the Crimean peninsula.

`We have provided the systems to do that, but this is a challenging time. We are not going anywhere, and neither are the 50-plus countries supporting Ukraine. That will continue

Previously, the White House also commented that Russian forces would continue to attack in Kharkov, but there would be no `breakthroughs`.

On May 10, Russia launched a cross-border attack on Kharkov and declared control of nine villages there.

Kharkiv is Ukraine’s second largest city and is located close to the Russian border.

Ukrainian soldiers said fighting was fierce in the border town of Vovchansk, about 4km from the Russian border and about 45km from Kharkov city.

Ukrainian forces sought to break the siege of the Russian army.

In a report released at midnight on May 12, the Ukrainian General Staff said that Russia had achieved `tactical success` with 14 out of 22 attacks in the area still ongoing.

Russian forces `deployed significant forces to attack the town of Vovchansk`, but Ukraine is still in control of this territory, pushing back small groups of Russian troops.

According to Ukrainian military spokesman Nazar Voloshyn, Russia is focusing on attacking Vovchansk and the town of Lyptsi, more than 7km from the Russian border and about 20km from Kharkov city.

The head of the Vovchansk military administration said that now, Russian drones are constantly operating in the area, and Moscow is also continuously shelling the town.

It is unclear what Russia’s goal is when targeting Kharkov, but experts from the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believe that Moscow is trying to get Ukraine to withdraw its forces from the Donbass region in the East.