Ukrainian soldiers break through Russian frontlines
WESTERN defence officials and analysts have said they believe Ukraine has punched through Russian frontlines south of the country’s second-largest city, taking thousands of square miles of territory and threatening to cut off Russian supply lines.
The British Ministry of Defence (MoD), in an online briefing, said it believed the Ukrainians had advanced as much as 50 kilometres in the advance south of Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine.
The advance appears to be around Izyum, long a focus on the Russian frontline and the site of heavy artillery and other fighting.
The MoD described Russian forces around Izyum as “increasingly isolated”.
“Russian forces were likely taken by surprise. The sector was only lightly held and Ukrainian units have captured or surrounded several towns,” it said.
It added that the nearby town of Kupiansk also appeared to be pressured by Ukrainian forces, and that its loss would greatly affect Russian supply lines in the area.
An image circulated on social media yesterday appeared to show Ukrainian soldiers in front of a main government building in Kupiansk, some 73 kilometres north of Izyum.
The image showed soldiers displaying the flag of the 92nd Separate Mechanised Battalion of Ukraine in front of a building that resembled Kupiansk’s city council building, which sits just along the Oskil River.
Ukraine’s military has not yet acknowledged entering the city, though it comes amid several days of apparent gains by the Ukrainians south of Kharkiv.
A Washington-based think tank likewise referenced sweeping Ukrainian gains on yesterday, estimating that Kyiv has seized around 2,500 square kilometres (965 square miles) in its north-eastern breakthrough.
The Institute for the Study of War said in a report that it appeared that “disorganised Russian forces (were) caught in the rapid Ukrainian advance”. They cited social media images of apparent Russian prisoners seized in the advance around Izyum and surrounding towns.
The same report said that Ukrainian forces “may collapse Russian positions around Izyum if they sever Russian ground lines of communication”.