General Oleksiy Hiromov of Ukraine’s General Staff told reporters on Thursday that Ukrainian forces had penetrated up to 50 kilometers into Russian defenses and liberated twenty villages in the Kharkiv region. The newspaper Okranska Pravda, which quoted the general’s statement, added that an area of more than 700 square kilometers had subsequently returned to the control of the Ukrainian government.
Ukrainian soldier in front of a destroyed Russian tank near Kharkov | Source: Reuters
“As part of the defensive operation in the direction of Kharkiv with the aim of liberating the lost regional armed forces of Ukraine, since the beginning of the week, in cooperation with units of the National Guard and other forces, they have conducted active combat operations in the designated directions. In general, our units penetrated to a depth of from 2 to several tens of Kilometers in individual directions. They liberated a number of villages. The total area of \u200b\u200bthe territory, which again controls Ukraine in the directions of Kharkiv and the South of Buze, is more than 700 square kilometers, said the general, who is the deputy head of the main executive department of the General Staff.
According to the newspaper Okranska Pravda, Hrumov added that the Ukrainian forces had entrenched enemy defenses in the direction of Kharkiv at a depth of up to 50 kilometers. More than 20 villages have been liberated.
Analysts at the American Institute for the Study of War earlier estimated that Ukrainian forces advanced at least 20 kilometers into Russian-controlled territory in the eastern Kharkiv region over the past day, retaking an area of about 400 square kilometers.
Russian reinforcements on the way
In its latest version message In connection with the development of the fighting in Ukraine, the institute’s analysts also reported that the Russian army began sending reinforcements to the Kharkiv region.
Ukrainians blew up the crew of the pro-Russian political movement in Melitopol. He was planning a referendum
Read the article
So far, Russian forces in the region may not have been large enough, given that Russia is focused on capturing the rest of the Donetsk region, as well as southern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces have been conducting a counterattack since late August.
He explained that the Ukrainians were apparently able to take advantage of the moment of surprise and the movement of Russian soldiers to the southern axis of the fight and launched a very effective counterattack in the Kharkiv region northwest of the city of Izgum. Institute for the Study of War.
According to the American Institute, the degree of surprise is manifested in the shocking tone of Russian Internet commentators about the war, which at the same time weakens the morale of the Russian forces.
The Russian news agency BBC reported that Ukrainian forces have surrounded the town of Balaklya during the past two days, according to the latest information, and are advancing towards Kobyansk, the most important railway junction used by Russia to supply all its forces in eastern Ukraine.
Russian official sources have been silent about this Ukrainian action, but RIA Novosti on Thursday informedthat the Kupjansk administration set up by Russia began to evacuate women and children.
The Russian authorities justified the evacuation by Ukrainian bombing. Even Kyiv is not releasing details of the counterattack, but according to satellite images, Ukrainian forces were in the village of Volochev Yar, about 50 kilometers from Kobyansk, on Wednesday, CNN wrote on Thursday.
Zelensky said that Ukrainian forces managed to retake some territory in the Kharkiv region
Read the article
In its periodic report, the Ukrainian Army Command said that in the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian Air Force carried out more than 30 air strikes on the strongholds of the Russian army and groups of Russian soldiers.
current balance
The Ukrainian General Staff said that the Ukrainian air defense destroyed two planes, two helicopters and five drones in different locations.
According to the Ukrainian leadership, Russia has lost about 51,250 soldiers, 2,122 tanks, 4,557 armored vehicles, 1,226 guns, 305 rocket launchers, 159 anti-aircraft weapons, 239 aircraft and 210 helicopters since the February 24 invasion.
It is not possible to independently verify reports of mutual losses between the two warring parties under the conditions of the ongoing fighting.
In southern Ukraine, Ukrainian forces apparently succeeded in destroying a pontoon bridge at Darzhevka. It was built by Russian forces after the Darzhev Bridge was badly damaged. advertiser In Thursday’s overview of the situation in Ukraine, the British Ministry of Defense.
The Russian Ministry of Defense at that time looking atUkrainian forces have lost more than 190 soldiers in the area between the cities of Mykolaiv and Kryvyi Rih in southern Ukraine. Significant losses, according to Moscow, prevented the Ukrainian army from carrying out further attacks in the region.
The Russian Ministry said that the Russian Air Force, using “high-precision strikes”, managed to eliminate 120 Ukrainian soldiers near Sloviansk and Kramatorsk in the east of the country. These allegations cannot be independently verified.
