The quick fall of Izium in Kharkiv province was Moscow’s biggest loss since its soldiers were driven out of Kyiv in March. This might be a watershed moment in the 6-month-old battle, with thousands of Russian soldiers fleeing with ammunition and equipment. Russian forces utilised Izium as a logistical hub for one of its major assaults, a months-long attack from the north on the surrounding Donbas area.
The Russian defence ministry says they will reinforce operations elsewhere in the region. Residents are told to evacuate the province and flee to Russia to ‘save lives,’ state-run TASS news agency reports. Witnesses describe traffic jams of cars with people leaving Russian-held territory.
Ukrainian troops have recaptured Izium from the Russian army, Zelenskiy’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak says. Ukraine’s armed forces have liberated around 2,000 square kilometres (770 square miles) of territory since a counter-offensive started, he says. The city’s name means ‘raisin’ and is on the outskirts of rebel-held territory in the east of the country.
‘Thousands of Russian troops are cut off from supplies along a front that has seen some of the most intense battles. Ukrainian armed forces are continuing to advance in different areas along the front’, Zelenskiy says. There are signs of trouble for Russia elsewhere along its remaining positions at the eastern front.
Mechanised Assault
Russia has regrouped its troops in the districts of Balakliia and Izium to increase efforts in the Donetsk direction, TASS quoted Russia’s defence ministry as saying. Kyiv’s forces have since recaptured dozens of towns and villages in a swift mechanised assault, surging forward dozens of kilometres (miles) a day. Russian forces had already abandoned Balaklia days ago.
Ukraine’s deputy defence minister urges people not to report prematurely that towns have been ‘taken’ just because Ukrainian troops have entered. In Hrakove, one of dozens of villages recaptured in the Ukrainian advance, Reuters saw burnt-out vehicles bearing the ‘Z’ symbol of Russia’s invasion. Boxes of ammunition were scattered along with rubbish at positions the Russians had abandoned in evident haste.
Russia is pulling back!
Families from Kupiansk eat and sleep in their automobiles on the side of the road. According to reports, the Ukrainian army has captured half of the city and Russia is retreating. Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said officials were providing food and medical assistance to persons waiting in line at a border crossing. Senator Andrey Turchak of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party said there were about 400 automobiles at the border.
Russian rocket fire hit Kharkiv city on Saturday evening, killing at least one person and damaging several homes. It was part of a surge in shelling since Kyiv’s counter-offensive, Ukrainian officials said. Russia’s abrupt abandonment of the front line south of Kharksiv city brought a sudden end to a period when the war was fought as a relentless grind.
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