We reported earlier in our big picture post (6.27am post) that Oleksandr Pivnenko, who commands Ukraine's National Guard, is not ruling out a Russian attempt to target Kharkiv - Ukraine's second-largest city.
Kharkiv has been the focus of recent air attacks.
But the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said its assessment is that the Russian military "lacks the forces necessary to seize the city".
In addition, Ukraine will soon have more hardware from the US, after a massive new package of aid was signed into law last week.
The commander in chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, has said the threat of an invasion is causing Ukraine to allocate additional resources to defend the city, the ISW said.
It added: "Syrskyi noted that Ukrainian forces have recently improved their positions near Synkivka (east of Kharkiv).
"A Russian military blogger claimed that Russian forces retreated a short distance from Synkivka due to manpower shortages in the area, suggesting that Russian forces have likely pulled at least some elements of the 6th CAA [6th Combined Arms Army) from the area."
The Russians' "combat effectiveness" can be questioned because of their "inability to seize Synkivka despite repeated mass infantry and mechanized assaults", the ISW said.
It went on: "ISW continues to assess that a potential future Russian offensive to seize Kharkiv City would be an extremely ambitious undertaking that would pose significant challenges to Russian forces, particularly since Russian forces will be facing better-equipped Ukrainian forces following the arrival of US military assistance."
