Russian offensive expected to include Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia regions -Ukraine security chief

Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, speaks with Reuters during an interview, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 7, 2023. REUTERS/Anna Voitenko

KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine's national security chief said on Tuesday Kyiv expects Russia to include the northeastern Kharkiv or southern Zaporizhzhia regions as targets of an anticipated offensive aimed at reclaiming the initiative in its year-old invasion.

Oleksiy Danilov, head of the National Security and Defence Council, said Russian forces were probing Kyiv's defences in partially Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia, part of a Moscow-controlled land bridge between eastern Ukraine and Crimea on the southern Black Sea coast.