A lightning counter-offensive by Ukraine has retaken more than 700 square miles in the past few days, leaving Russian soldiers literally running for their lives — and Vladimir Putin bizarrely attended the opening of a new Ferris wheel during the height of his troops’ retreat.
Ukrainian army Chief General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said Sunday that his troops had taken back 1,158 square miles of territory (an area about four times the size of the five boroughs of New York City) since the start of the month — with two-thirds of the whopping gains occurring since Thursday.
“In the Kharkiv direction, we began to advance not only to the south and east, but also to the north,” the general wrote on social media. “There are 50 km [30 miles] to go to the [Russian] border.”
Ukraine regained additional territory in the region Sunday, the New York Times reported — the day after Russia’s stunning reported retreat from the city of Izium, an important logistics hub. Russia’s alleged loss of Izium is considered its worst defeat since being pushed away from Kyiv in March.
On Saturday, the same day Russia reportedly retreated from Izium, Russian President Putin attended the grand opening of Europe’s largest Ferris wheel in Moscow, leaving him mocked online.
“His soldiers are dying on the battlefield and he’s opening a ferris wheel….total insanity, the guy is 3 sheets to the wind!” a supporter of Ukraine tweeted. --->READ MORE HERE
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| Kostiantyn Liberov/Associated Press |
Russia withdrew more forces from the Kharkiv region on Monday, retreating from a swath of northeastern Ukraine as Kyiv’s forces continued their push into Russian-occupied territory and the government pledged that all areas seized by Moscow would be retaken.
“The Russian occupiers are running so fast under pressure from Ukrainian soldiers that they’re leaving whole ammunition arsenals behind,” Ukraine’s SBU intelligence service said. “We know what to do with them and will be sure to use them according to purpose—against the enemy.”
Since the start of its offensive earlier this month, Ukraine has said it has retaken about 9,000 square kilometers, or about 3,500 square miles, of territory from Moscow’s forces in the region of Kharkiv, handing Russia the biggest setback since it invaded in February. That is more than one-tenth of all areas Russia gained and kept since the invasion.
The rapid gains have caught Moscow off guard, prompting criticism among supporters of the Kremlin about the way the military campaign is being handled.
Ukraine on Monday published photos of troops inspecting a warehouse filled with Russian arms and ammunition in Izyum, a city in southeastern Kharkiv that had for months served as a garrison for Russian forces.
In a report published early Monday, Ukraine said its armed forces had retaken 30 Russian-occupied settlements on Sunday alone, capitalizing on panic among Russian forces who have reportedly been fleeing the Kharkiv region and leaving equipment behind.
Sgt. Artur Shevtsov of the Dnipro-1 battalion, based near Slovyansk in eastern Ukraine, said the battalion’s sixth and seventh units had taken part in the battles for Izyum and Balakliya. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:
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