প্রকাশ: 12/09/2022
Ukrainian forces
swept further across territory seized from fleeing Russian troops on Monday, as
Moscow grappled with the consequences of the collapse of its occupation force
in northeastern Ukraine.
Ukraine's general staff said early on Monday that its forces
had recaptured more than 20 towns and villages in just the past day, after
Russia acknowledged it was abandoning Izium, its main stronghold in northeastern
Ukraine.
"Taking them under full control and stabilization
measures are being carried out," the general staff said of the newly
re-captured settlements.
As thousands of Russian troops abandoned their positions,
leaving behind huge stocks of ammunition and equipment, Russia fired missiles
at power stations on Sunday causing blackouts in the Kharkiv and adjacent
Poltava and Sumy regions.
Ukraine denounced what it described as retaliation against
civilian targets for its military advances. By Monday morning, Reuters
journalists in Kharkiv said the power was back on, although the water was not
yet working. The regional governor said power had been restored by 80%. Moscow,
which denies deliberately striking civilian targets, did not comment.
Britain's ministry of defence said Russia had probably
ordered its forces to withdraw from all of Kharkiv region west of the Oskil
River, abandoning the main supply route that had sustained Russia's operations
in the east.
Kyiv, which reached the Oskil when it seized the railway hub
city of Kupiansk on Saturday, suggested Russia was already falling even further
back: The Ukrainian general staff said Russian troops had abandoned Svatove in
Luhansk province, around 20 km (12 miles) east of the Oskil. Reuters could not
confirm this.
The British ministry said Moscow's forces were also
struggling to bring reserves to the frontline in the south, where Ukraine has
launched a big advance in Kherson province aiming to isolate thousands of
Russian soldiers on the west bank of the Dnipro River.
"The majority of the (Russian) force in Ukraine is
highly likely being forced to prioritise emergency defensive actions," the
British update said. "The rapid Ukrainian successes have significant
implications for Russia's overall operational design."
UNRAVELLING
Ukraine's swiftest advance since driving Russian forces away
from the capital in March has turned the tide in the six-month war, unravelling
in a matter of days’ swathes of the gains Moscow had achieved in months of
costly fighting in the east.
Ukrainian chief commander General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said his
troops had retaken more than 3,000 sq km (1,160 sq miles) this month, advancing
to within 50 km (30 miles) of the border with Russia.
Further Russian retreats, especially east of the Oskil,
could soon put Ukrainian forces in position to attack territory that Russia and
its local proxies had held since 2014.
Denis Pushilin, leader of the pro-Russian separatist proxy
administration in Donetsk province, acknowledged pressure from multiple
directions.
"At the very least, we have stopped the enemy at
Lyman," he said in a post on Telegram overnight, referring to a frontline
city east of Izium. "We'll have to see how that develops. But our boys have
had clear successes."
He also described "successes" in fighting at
Bakhmut, where Russia had long been concentrating its offensive, and Vuhledar
further south.
Moscow has so far remained largely mute since its frontline
collapsed in the northeast last week, with President Vladimir Putin and his
senior officials withholding any comment on the "special military
operation" they have always said was "going to plan".
After days of making no reference at all to the retreat,
Russia's ministry of defence acknowledged on Saturday that it had abandoned
Izium and neighbouring Balakliia, in what it called a pre-planned
"regrouping" to fight in Donetsk.
Russian broadcasters, required by law to report only
official accounts, have alluded to the setbacks but struggled to explain them,
with commentators mainly demanding a redoubled war effort.
"We must win the war in Ukraine! We must liquidate the
Nazi regime!" one commentator said on a panel show on NTV television.
"And how many years is that supposed to take?"
replied another. "So my 10-year-old children will get a chance to
fight?"
- Reuters
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