Russians in retreat
‘Turning point’ as Kremlin’s troops flee back to own border
UKRAINIAN forces yesterday regained more territory as they continued a stunning counter-offensive that could prove to be a turning point in the seven-month war against Russia.
Military commanders declared they have retaken more than 1,000 square miles in the north east of the country since the start of this month, most of it in the space of just 48 hours from Friday.
Russian troops have been pushed back to within 30 miles of their own border in the Kharkiv region, in what is the biggest blow to Vladimir Putin’s invasion since his failed attempt to take the capital Kyiv in March.
It came after a sustained Ukrainian ‘disinformation campaign’ about a counter-offensive in the south, which succeeded in diverting Russian troops in that direction and leaving the north east vulnerable to attack.
The main advance in the area began six days ago and has forced Moscow to withdraw its troops to prevent them being surrounded.
They left behind significant numbers of weapons and munitions in a hasty scramble as
‘Biggest success since saving Kyiv’
the war marked its 200th day yesterday. The jubilant Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky mocked their retreat in a video address to the nation, saying that ‘the Russian army in these days is demonstrating the best that it can do – showing its back’.
Yesterday he posted a video of Ukrainian soldiers hoisting the national flag once again over the town of Chkalovske. More crucially, they entered the Russian-held supply towns of Izyum, Kupiansk and Balakliya.
Unusually, the propaganda-led Russian defence ministry confirmed its retreat from towns, but said its troops were ‘ regrouping’ to defend the Donetsk region, where Ukraine will advance towards next.
Ukraine’s military chief, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said yesterday his forces had liberated about 1,160 square miles since the beginning of September – triple the amount of regained territory claimed by Mr Zelensky just two days previously.
If correct, this is the biggest battlefield success for Ukrainian forces since they thwarted Putin’s attempt to seize Kyiv and other central areas of the country not long after the initial invasion in late February. After that setback Russia regrouped to concentrate on the Donbas region in the east, but that too is now in the sights of advancing Ukrainian troops.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War said Ukraine had retaken more territory in five days than Russia had since April.
Ukrainian defence minister Oleksii Reznikov said that the Russians have been cut off from vital supply lines and predicted more rapid gains. ‘It will be like an avalanche,’ he said, ‘ One line of [Russian] defence will shake, and it will fall.’
Russia still controls around 20 per cent of Ukraine, and military analysts are warning the war will at least continue through the long cold winter. Mr Zelensky agreed with this forecast, saying at the weekend: ‘Ahead are 90 days that will determine more than 30 years of Ukrainian independence... The winter will determine our future.’
Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said the recent gains were only possible thanks to hi-tech weapons supplied by the UK and other western allies, and added that victory is within sight if the support continues.
He added: ‘The more weapons we receive, the faster we will win and the faster this war will end.’
Throughout July and August, Ukraine’s political and military
leaders had declared very openly that they would launch a major counter-offensive in the south.
Taras Berezovets, press officer for the Bohun brigade of Ukraine’s special forces, said: ‘It was a big special disinformation operation. The offensive happened where they least expected, and this caused
them to panic and flee.’ Lieutenant-General Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya who has supplied thousands of troops for the Russian invasion, said the Kharkiv retreat resulted from leadership blunders. ‘They have made mistakes,’ he said. ‘If they don’t make changes... I will be forced to contact
the leadership of the country to explain the real situation on the ground.’
Russian political analyst Sergei Markov criticised Putin’s attendance at Moscow’s 875th ‘birthday’ celebration on Saturday. ‘The fireworks in Moscow on a tragic day of Russia’s military defeat will have extremely serious political consequences,’ he said.