Attacks by Russian commando forces in the centre of Kharkiv were meant to lead to the capture of the city and pave the way for Vladimir Putin’s dismemberment of Ukraine.
It was expected that the Kremlin would seek to take over the country’s second-biggest city, which lies just 30 miles from the Russian border with 74 per cent of its 1.4 million inhabitants Russian-speaking, and supposedly with divided loyalties.
