Ukraine Makes Significant Gains In Kharkiv – Following a series of victories in southeastern Ukraine recently, the Ukrainian military has reportedly made further gains in the Kharkiv region as their secretive counter-offensive continues.
According to Vitaly Ganchev, the Russian-installed regional leader of Kharkiv, the Ukrainian military is making a “very sharp and rapid” advance in regions previously occupied by the Russian military. The advances came as a surprise to Russian forces, with very little about Ukraine’s plans being released to the press ahead of time or even after the military recaptured several Ukrainian towns and villages.
Friday’s comments from Ganchev are a de-facto acknowledgment that the Russian military no longer has full control of Kharkiv, the second-largest city in the country.
Nonetheless, Ganchev painted a picture of Russian resistance.
“The enemy is being delayed as much as possible, but several settlements have already come under the control of Ukrainian armed formations,” Ganchev said.
During an interview on Russian state television, Ganchev expressed concern about the effectiveness of Ukraine’s new offensive.
“The very fact of a breach of our defences is already a substantial victory for the Ukrainian armed forces,” he said.
The only comments from Russian officials, however, have been local. The Kremlin has refused to comment on advances made by Ukrainian forces in recent days and continues to work overtime to encourage as many new recruits as possible.
Gaining Too Much Ground, Too Quickly
Global Public Policy Institute research fellow Tobias Schneider offered an insight into Ukraine’s recent successes against the Russians, arguing that the Ukrainian military was gaining more ground than it can keep up with.
In a tweet on Friday, Schneider said that by analyzing rumors circulating on major Telegram channels, it was becoming obvious that “Russian lines are collapsing faster than Ukraine can even advance and clear liberated areas.”
It’s good news, but it also makes establishing a clear picture of these gains much harder. It also puts pressure on Ukraine to quickly populate these liberated areas with sufficient numbers of military personnel to prevent Russian soldiers from reclaiming the territory that Ukraine has only just liberated after six months of fighting.
“One imagines even those Russian forces willing and organized to resist will inevitably find themselves outflanked, at risk of being cut off and forced to retreat. Occupying forces appear threadbare throughout. A dynamic that will be hard to backstop,” Schneider added.
Images Paint Picture Of Russian Desertion
Photographs shared on Telegram and Twitter on Friday also reveal just how many losses the Russian military has experienced in recent days.
In a post by Ukraine Weapons tracker, photographs showed Russian air defense systems captured by the Ukrainians in Kharkiv Oblast. The post describes how Ukrainian forces claimed “a 2S6M/M1 combat vehicle from the 2K22M/M1 Tunguska anti-aircraft system, and a much older ZSU-23-4 Shilka SPAAG.”
#Ukraine: Some more Russian air defence assets captured by Ukrainian forces in #Kharkiv Oblast; a 2S6M/M1 combat vehicle from the 2K22M/M1 Tunguska anti-aircraft system, and a much older ZSU-23-4 Shilka SPAAG. pic.twitter.com/kxA5bxsOmb
— ?? Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) September 9, 2022
Other photographs showed an “ancient” GAZ-51 transport track captured by the Ukrainians – another sign that Russia is struggling to equip its troops on the front lines with modern equipment
Other images show Russian tanks and armored vehicles captured by Ukrainians, still emblazoned with the “Z” symbol that has become synonymous with Russian aggression in Ukraine.
#Ukraine: Ukrainian SSO (Special Forces) ambushed a Rosgvardiya column in #Kharkiv Oblast.
You can see the result. pic.twitter.com/N4RJgPbLw5
— ?? Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) September 9, 2022
Zelenskyy Breaks Silence On Kharkiv Counteroffensive
After more than a week of staying tight-lipped about his military’s advances in Kharkiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy celebrated the liberation of the city of Balakliia, which is located in the Kharkiv Oblast province. A video was shared on the president’s social media accounts showing Ukrainian soldiers standing up above a building in the city which has been under Russian control for the last six months.
The soldiers were pictured standing on a Russian flag with a Ukrainian flag flying behind them.
“The order is fulfilled. Russian occupational troops have withdrawn,” one of the soldiers is heard saying in the clip.”
The news also comes after Zelenskyy claimed in his nightly address on Thursday that his military had reclaimed more than 1,000 square kilometers from the Russians.
Also on Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to lose many lives to defend his military’s control over Ukraine.
Su-35 over Ukraine. Image Credit: TASS/Russian state media.
“There are a huge number of Russian forces that are in Ukraine and unfortunately, tragically, horrifically President Putin has demonstrated that he will throw a lot of people into this at huge cost to Russia, at huge cost to its future,” Blinken said.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
