San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)

Russians retreat as troops make major advance

- By Karl Ritter and Joanna Kozlowska Karl Ritter and Joanna Kozlowska are Associated Press writers.

KYIV, Ukraine — Russia’s Defense Ministry announced Saturday that it’s pulling back troops from two areas in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region where a Ukrainian counteroff­ensive has made significan­t advances.

The news came after a thrust 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 of 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.”

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenko­v said Saturday that troops would be regrouped from the Balakliya and Izyum areas to Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. Izyum was a major base for Russian forces in the Kharkiv region and earlier last week social media videos showed residents of Balakliya joyfully cheering as Ukrainian troops moved in.

Konashenko­v said the Russian move is being made “in order to achieve the stated goals of the special military operation to liberate Donbas,” one of the eastern Ukraine regions that Russia has declared sovereign.

The claim of withdrawal to concentrat­e on Donetsk is similar to the justificat­ion Russia gave for pulling back its forces from the Kyiv region earlier this year when they failed to take the Ukrainian capital.

Ukrainian officials earlier Saturday claimed major gains in a counteroff­ensive against Russian forces in the Kharkiv region, saying Ukrainian troops had cut off vital supplies to Izyum.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko also suggested troops had retaken Kupiansk, a town along the main supply route to Izyum, long a focus on the Russian front line and the site of heavy fighting.

Videos on social media appeared to show Ukrainian forces on the outskirts of Izyum at a roadside checkpoint. A large statue with the city’s name could be seen in the footage.

Earlier Saturday, the British Defense Ministry said it believed the Ukrainians had advanced as far as 30 miles south of Kharkiv, and described Russian forces around Izyum as “increasing­ly isolated.”

“Russian forces were likely taken by surprise,” the British military said, adding that the loss of Kupiansk would greatly affect Russian supply lines.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, likewise cited sweeping Ukrainian gains, estimating that Kyiv has seized around 965 square miles in its eastern breakthrou­gh.

Vladislav Sokolov, head of the Russian-appointed local administra­tion, said authoritie­s in Izyum have started evacuating residents to Russia.

The fighting in eastern Ukraine comes amid an ongoing offensive around Kherson in the south. Analysts suggest Russia may have taken soldiers from the east to reinforce around Kherson, offering the Ukrainians the opportunit­y to strike a weakened front line.

 ?? Russian Defense Ministry Press Service ?? Russian soldiers fire a howitzer from an undisclose­d location in Ukraine. Russian troops were retreating Saturday from a Ukrainian counteroff­ensive in the eastern Kharkiv region.
Russian Defense Ministry Press Service Russian soldiers fire a howitzer from an undisclose­d location in Ukraine. Russian troops were retreating Saturday from a Ukrainian counteroff­ensive in the eastern Kharkiv region.

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