in last week’s counter-attack in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine’s army took over villages in the North and broke through to the Russian border
A Russian installed official – Vitaly Ganchev has said that Ukrainian forces outnumbered Russians by 8 to 1 in last week’s counter-attack in the Kharkiv region.
Vitaly said that Ukraine’s army took over villages in the North and broke through to the Russian border. Ukraine said it has regained control over 3,000 sq.km. (1,158 sq. miles) of territory in a potential breakthrough in the 6-month war. The Ukrainian Army said it has taken back 20 villages in the past 24 hours alone.
However, Kremlin Spokesman – Dmitry Peskov said operations in Ukraine would continue until all the tasks that were initially set are fulfilled. Russia is carrying out strikes in those areas that Ukraine had retaken recently. Ukraine has recently taken over the towns of Izyum and Kupiansk. Russia confirmed its forces’ retreat from both towns. The Russian army appears to have abandoned large quantities of equipment and ammunition as it withdrew from areas it had held since the first weeks of the war.
Speaking on the occasion, Peskov said, “The military operation continues and it will continue until the goals that were originally set are achieved. Of course any actions of the military that they perform as part of the special operation are reported to the Supreme Commander.”
The Foreign Minister of Russia – Sergey Lavrov said that Russia was not against negotiations regarding Ukraine but the longer they took, the more difficult it is going to be to agree on anything.
The Ukrainian Army is now cleaning up the war-torn city and searching for Russian soldiers potentially hiding in people’s houses. The Russian Army has been targeting civilian infrastructure ever since the invasion began.
Separately, a wave of missile strikes has caused power cuts across the region. The blackouts reportedly affected millions of people in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions. According to reports, a Russian battle-tank maker- Uralvagonzavod, has switched to round-the-clock production after these setbacks. Workers at Nizhny Tagil have reportedly not been allowed to go on vacation due to the production necessity.
The Defence Minister of Ukraine – Oleksii Reznikov, said the priority is to secure the territorial gains made in a week of rapid advances in the Kharkiv region. The extraordinary advances are a big blow for Russia and a boost to Ukraine’s position. It has also increased the morale of Ukrainian forces that they can push the Russians out.
Prior to this, the President of Ukraine – Volodymyr Zelenskyy had talked about a possible breakthrough, suggesting that more advances could happen before winter.
