Ukraine counter-offensive: Russian forces retreat as Ukraine takes key towns

Russian forces have withdrawn from key eastern towns, as a rapid Ukrainian counter-attack makes further gains. Ukrainian officials said troops entered Kupiansk, a vital eastern supply hub for Russian forces, on Saturday. Russia’s defence ministry then said its troops have retreated from nearby Izyum to allow them “to regroup”. The ministry also confirmed the withdrawal of troops from a third key town, Balaklyia, in order to “bolster efforts” on the Donetsk front. The Ukrainian advances – if held – would be the most significant since Russia withdrew from areas around Kyiv in April. In his nightly video address on Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that Ukraine had now liberated 2,000 sq km (700 sq miles) from Russia since beginning a renewed counter-offensive earlier this month. His claim would suggest that half of that area has been recaptured in the last 48 hours alone – as it is twice the area of territory Mr Zelensky said had been liberated when he spoke on Thursday evening. (…) The Russians still hold around a fifth of the country and few imagine a swift end to the war. But the Ukrainians have now shown they can beat the Russians in battle, not just outmanoeuvre them. According to one military expert, it’s the first time since World War Two that whole Russian units have been lost.

via bbc: Ukraine counter-offensive: Russian forces retreat as Ukraine takes key towns

siehe auch: Ukrainian official: More than 40 settlements in the Kharkiv region liberated. As a Russian retreat in the Kharkiv region continues, a senior Ukrainian official has said that more than 40 settlements have now been liberated. Roman Semenukha, Deputy Head of the Kharkiv region military administration, told Ukrainian television: “We can officially announce the liberation of more than 40 settlements. The situation is changing incredibly quickly and there are many, many more such [de-occupied] settlements.” Semenukha said the 40 referred only to those places where the situation was completely under control, and there were more where the Ukrainian flag had been raised; Russia announces troop pullback from Ukraine’s Kharkiv area. Russia’s Defense Ministry announced Saturday that it was pulling back troops from two areas in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region where a Ukrainian counteroffensive has made significant advances in the past week. The news came after days of apparent advances by Ukraine south of Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city, in what could become the biggest battlefield success for Ukrainian forces since they thwarted a Russian attempt to seize the capital, Kyiv, at the start of the nearly seven-month war. “The Russian army in these days is demonstrating the best that it can do — showing its back,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video released by his office Saturday night. “And, of course, it’s a good decision for them to run.” (…) The Ukrainian military was more circumspect, claiming to have taken “more than 1,000 square kilometers” (386 square miles) from pro-Kremlin forces this week. It said that “in some areas, units of the Defense Forces have penetrated the enemy’s defenses to a depth of 50 kilometers,” matching the British assessment, but did not disclose geographical details. Officials in Kyiv have for weeks been tight-lipped about plans for a counteroffensive, urging residents to refrain from sharing information on social media. However, Zelenskyy said Friday that troops had reclaimed more than 30 settlements in the Kharkiv region since the start of the counteroffensive; Ukrainian official claims southern offensive was ‘disinformation’ to distract Russia from real offensive in Kharkiv.Ukraine said its much-anticipated southern offensive was a plan to distract Russia from the real Kharkiv offensive. The plot caused Russia to move equipment and personnel to the southern front, Ukraine said. Ukraine made rapid gains since it began its offensive in Kharkiv this week. Get a daily selection of our top stories based on your reading preferences. Email address SIGN UP By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. A Ukrainian special forces official said the country’s much-anticipated southern offensive was actually a disinformation campaign to distract Russia from its real offensive where its regaining territory in Kharkiv. “[It] was a big special disinformation operation,” Taras Berezovets, former national security adviser and now press officer for the Bohun brigade of Ukraine’s special forces, told The Guardian. Ukraine has made rapid gains since it began its surprise offensive in the north-eastern Kharkiv region this week, which has been occupied by Russian forces for months.

Von Main Directorate of the <a href=”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Emergency_Service_of_Ukraine” class=”extiw” title=”en:State Emergency Service of Ukraine”>State Emergency Service of Ukraine</a> in Kharkiv Oblast – <a rel=”nofollow” class=”external free” href=”https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=453941573442008&amp;set=pcb.453941706775328″>https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=453941573442008&amp;set=pcb.453941706775328</a> (<a rel=”nofollow” class=”external text” href=”https://www.facebook.com/MNSKHARKIV/posts/453941706775328″>the whole post</a>), CC-BY 4.0, Link