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| Photo: Ukraine Defense Ministry/Handout/Shutterstock |
Ukrainian forces pushed deep into Russian-controlled territory Saturday, handing Kyiv some of the most strategically important towns and cities in the northeast of the country and delivering retreating Russian forces one of their biggest setbacks since the start of the war.
In a matter of days, Ukraine retook swaths of its Kharkiv region, where Russians had fought ferociously for months, spending lives and ammunition to take over cities, sometimes a building at a time.
In the weeks leading up to the offensive that Ukraine launched earlier this week, Kyiv’s forces used Western-made weapons, including High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or Himars, against Russian supply lines and front-line positions.
The growing success of Ukraine’s advance signals to Western backers the effectiveness of weapons the U.S. and Europe have given to Kyiv. It comes at a particularly critical time for Western powers, days after Moscow indefinitely suspended natural-gas flows to Europe, raising the prospect of energy rationing this winter.
Russia’s retreat from key cities is likely aimed at avoiding encirclement after Ukraine captured the town of Kupyansk, which sits on a rail and road hub, and severed the last artery that connected Russia with thousands of its front-line troops.
“It’s a complete collapse,” Phillips O’Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, said about the Russian pullout of forces between Kupyansk and Izyum. “In the battle of Donbas, they probably had more troops deployed there than anywhere and now they seem to be unable to hold anything.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said late Saturday that Ukrainian forces had managed to retake 2,000 square kilometers from the Russians, or about 770 square miles—more than twice the land area of New York City—since the start of the month. That is double the territory it held on Thursday. --->READ MORE HERE
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| REUTERS |
In what may signal a turning point in Ukraine, its forces gained control of a vital Russian supply hub in the northeastern part of the country — part of its shock counteroffensive to recapture territory lost to Moscow after February’s invasion — as Russia’s Defense Ministry announced a troop pull-back Saturday.
Ukrainian special forces troops posted photos to social media showing their officers in the city of Kupiansk, a vital supply center for Russian troops just 35 miles from the border with Russia, according to reports.
The gains could mean a crucial turning point in the war, analysts said. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, estimating that Kyiv has seized around 965 square miles in its northeastern breakthrough.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Russian forces would be regrouped from the Balaklija and Izyum areas, according to Russia’s TASS News Agency. The two cities are about 50 miles southwest of Kupiansk. The withdrawal reflects a wide
The Kupiansk rail and road hub located in the western half of the city was the last major artery connecting Russia with thousands of troops, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The UK Ministry of Defense said Ukrainian troops had advanced to within 30 miles of Kharkiv, the nation’s second-largest city, --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:
+++++Russia-Ukraine News LATEST UPDATES: (REUTERS) (AP) (NY POST) and (WSJ)+++++
+++++Russia gives up key northeast towns as Ukrainian forces advance+++++
+++++Kupiansk, Izium liberated as Russian defenses collapse amid rapid Ukrainian advance in Kharkiv Oblast+++++
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