CNN
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President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed “good news” from Northeast of Kharkivafter an apparent surprise counterattack forced Russian troops to retreat and pro-Kremlin officials to call for evacuation.
Kupyansk city chief executive Vitaly Ganchev, who was appointed by Russia, urged women and children to evacuate the city as Ukrainian troops approached.
Ganchev said the city, located about 70 miles east of the city of Kharkiv, west of the Donbass region, was “under constant threat” and was under “constant rocket attacks from the Ukrainian army.” .
Ukrainian officials declined to comment on the matter Offensive in northeastern Ukraine, but footage geo-located by CNN showed Ukrainian forces on Wednesday in the town of Vorohikh Yar, about 50 kilometers away from Kupiansk, and on the outskirts of Balakliya to the south. Russian officials have also remained silent about developments in the Kharkov area.
The operation appears to have been designed to catch the Russian military off guard in the face of the escalating conflict in southern Russia. Ukraine Near the city of Kherson.
the past few weeks, Russia According to Ukrainian officials and footage from equipment passing through the Crimea that CNN has located, some troops have been redeployed south to strengthen forces ahead of a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Kherson region. did.
As the war heads into winter, the Southern Front looks set to become one of the main theaters of conflict, but a renewed Ukrainian push in Kharkov could spread Russian forces across two different locations.
The Institute for War Studies (ISW), a Washington-based analytical group, said Kyiv “used tactical surprise attacks to advance at least 20km into Russian-held territory in eastern Kharkiv province on 7 September, It is highly probable that about 400 square kilometers of land have been recaptured.” , said Wednesday’s daily report on the dispute.
“Ukrainian forces likely used the relocation of Russian forces, equipment and overall operational focus judiciously to launch a localized counteroffensive towards key points in the Kharkov province.” said ISW.
In recent weeks, Russia has relocated some troops south to consolidate its strength ahead of a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Kherson region, Ukrainian officials and CNN have geographically identified. According to the footage of the equipment passing through the Crimea.
Russian military bloggers and analysts report that the Ukrainian military strike on Kupyansk is aimed at cutting off supply lines to the strategic city of Izium to the south.
Zelensky was coy about whether certain settlements had been retaken by Ukrainian forces in his nightly speech Wednesday. Thank you.
“This week we have good news from the Kharkov region,” said Zelensky. “Perhaps you have already seen reports on the activities of the Ukrainian garrison. And I think that all citizens are proud of our soldiers.
He also thanked forces stationed in southern Ukraine for what he called a “very successful attack” against Russian occupying forces, while a simultaneous counterattack was launched in the north.
“The more difficult it was for the occupiers, the greater the losses, the better the position of the defenders of Donbass, the more reliable the defense of the cities of the Zaporizhia, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, the more quickly Azov We could liberate the region and the entire South,” he said.
Ukraine continues to counterattack to the south. The Ukrainian army is profiting in the south. ambitious goal of reclaiming most of Russia’s occupied territories A senior U.S. official and Ukrainian official told CNN Wednesday.
The past week saw the most ambitious ground attack by Ukrainians since the start of the invasion, according to video and satellite imagery geolocation.
The United States has observed Ukrainian forces having some success in attacking Russian supply lines, cutting off Russian forces currently deployed west of the Dnipro River and isolating them, according to senior U.S. officials. It is intended to let
Source: www.cnn.com
