Ukraine blitz forces Russians to retreat
KYIV: Ukraine accused Russia of causing sweeping power cuts in the east of the country, as Kyiv announced significant gains in its counteroffensive, including the recapture of the city of Izyum.
Large areas of eastern Ukraine were without power, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed on “Russian terrorists”.
He accused Moscow of deliberately hitting civilian infrastructure.
“No military facilities,” he said. “The goal is to deprive people of light and heat.”
The electricity cuts hit regions with an estimated combined population of nine million people, including territory controlled by Russia.
The blackouts came as Ukrainian forces claimed to have recaptured dozens of towns and villages in eastern Ukraine.
The speed of Ukraine’s fightback against Russia’s invasion caught Moscow’s military off-guard and brought swathes of territory Russia had occupied for months back under Kyiv’s control.
Images posted by the Ukrainian military showed crates of munitions and military hardware scattered across territory abandoned by the fleeing Russian forces.
In his evening address, Mr Zelensky praised the soldiers who had “liberated hundreds of our cities and villages … and most recently Balakliya, Izyum and Kupiansk,” naming three important hubs recaptured by Kyiv’s army.
Around Balakliya, one of the first towns to be recaptured by Ukrainian troops, journalists saw evidence of fierce battles, with buildings destroyed or damaged and streets mainly deserted.
Mr Zelensky’s address on Sunday (local time) marked 200 days since the beginning of Russia’s invasion. Earlier, the head of the Ukrainian military announced that as much as 3000sq km had been wrested back from Russia since Ukraine’s latest offensive began this month.
The country’s foreign minister used the momentum to appeal to Western allies for more stockpiles of sophisticated weapons.
“Weapons have been on our agenda since spring. I am grateful to partners who have answered our call: Ukraine’s battlefield successes are our shared ones,” Dmytro Kuleba said. “Prompt supplies bring victory and peace closer.”
The reaction in Moscow to the Ukrainian gains so far has been muted, but on Sunday a military map presented by the Russian defence ministry showed that its forces had made a major withdrawal from the Kharkiv region.
The Russian military made the surprise announcement that it was “regrouping” its forces from Kharkiv to the Donetsk region in the south to focus its military efforts there. That came shortly after Moscow said it was actually sending reinforcements towards Kharkiv.
In Balakliya, one of the towns recently recaptured by Ukrainian troops, 52-year-old Iryna Stepanenko, was outside cycling for the first time in months.
She had hidden in her basement for three months, she said from the town that was home to some 27,000 people before the invasion.
But while she was relieved that Kyiv’s forces were back, she was still worried about the future. “I’m worried the Russians could return. I’m worried the shelling could start again,” she said.