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| Russia Announces Troop Withdrawal from Eastern Kharkiv Ukraine |
Kharkiv - The Russian Ministry of Defense on Saturday (10/9/2022) announced that it was withdrawing troops from two areas in the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine. In the region, the Ukrainian counteroffensive has made significant progress in the past week.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said troops would be regrouped from the Balakliya and Izyum areas to the eastern Donetsk region. Izyum is the main base for Russian troops in the Kharkiv region, and earlier this week social media videos showed residents of Balakliya cheering with joy as Ukrainian troops moved in.
As reported by the AP, Konashenkov, said Russian steps were being taken "to achieve the stated goal of the special military operation to liberate the Donbas,'" one of the eastern regions of Ukraine that Russia has declared sovereign. The withdrawal claim to concentrate on Donetsk is similar to Russia's justification for withdrawing its troops from the Kiev region earlier this year when they failed to capture the capital.
The news comes after days of tangible progress made by Ukraine south of Kharkiv, the country's second largest city. This is seen as the biggest battlefield success for Ukrainian forces since they thwarted a Russian attempt to seize the capital Kiev at the start of the war.
"Russian soldiers in these days are showing the best they can do showing their backs," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zlensky said in a video released by his office late Saturday. "And, of course, it was a good decision for them to run," Zelenksy continued, as quoted by the AP.
Meanwhile, Britain's Ministry of Defense said on Saturday it believed Ukrainian forces had advanced 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Kharkiv, and described Russian forces around Izyum as "increasingly isolated." “Russian troops were most likely taken by surprise. This sector is only lightly controlled and Ukrainian units have captured or surrounded several towns," the British military said.
It added that the disappearance of Kupiansk would greatly affect Russian supply lines. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, also pointed to Ukraine's advantage, estimating that Kiev had captured about 2,500 square kilometers (965 square miles) of its eastern breakthrough.
The agency said it appeared "unorganized Russian forces (stuck) in Ukraine's rapid advance," and cited social media images of Russian detainees captured in the vicinity of Izyum and surrounding towns.
The same report said Ukrainian forces "could destroy Russian positions in the vicinity of Izyum if they cut off Russian ground communication lines" north and south of the city.