A map believed to have been released even by Russian commanders in eastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region appears to show that the Russian military has run out of reserves as Ukrainian forces launched a counteroffensive here and in Kherson.

The operational map used by the Russian troops in Kharkiv was published on the Russian Telegram channel under the title Za (V)Pobѣdu (“Toward (V) Victory”), accompanied by an incriminating story about the transfer of troops from here to Kherson, from where Kyiv launched the already well-known counteroffensive in the south of the country last week.

Military analyst and independent researcher Chris Owen noted the situation on his page Twitterthis one also gets a translation of a post made by Russians:

“To understand how Ukrainians dared to take such a bold step in Kharkiv, I will explain with a very vivid example. There is a forest nearby [satului] Dovgenka – “baby elephant” – as it is commonly called.

Before the redeployment of troops, this elephant was protected by the 36th Motorized Infantry Brigade, which is part of the 29th Combined Arms Army. The eastern military group was withdrawn and redeployed to the south. That’s why the 36th brigade. They left the “elephant”, and Ukrainians came in their place.”

On separate sections of the front, the Ukrainians advanced towards Kharkiv without resistance

The Russian Telegram channel also stated that it happened “without a fight, quietly” because “there is no one to replace them.” [pe soldații ruși]”.

“And this is just such a forest. There were many more positions and settlements. This is already a clear indirect sign for analysts in the Hahol command (not a derogatory term that the Russians use for Ukrainians) that the Western group has big problems with human resources,” the post reads.

“Even without objective information, you can decide on a venture with a high probability of success,” the post concludes.

The satellite image shows why the “elephant” is so important for the defense of the village of Dovgenke, which is of strategic importance given the deployment of Russian troops in the area, and the forest is located right next to the village.

What the map leaked by the Russian military shows

Chris Owen says that the emergence of such an operational map, even with the blurring of some confidential information, is “really interesting”.

“It shows to me that the local command is very nervous about the situation and wants to draw public attention to what they see as the failures of the higher command. The goal may be to push political leaders to replace incompetent generals,” says a military analyst.

“I suspect that as the situation worsens for Russia, we will see more and more leaks like this in the future,” he suggests.

Recruitment problems in the Russian military have already become notorious: a huge archive of documents obtained by investigative journalists in Russia in August shows that many new recruits are forced to sign professional contracts and regular soldiers are not allowed to leave.

Russia began a “stealth” mobilization in July to try to recruit new troops to fight in Ukraine after President Vladimir Putin did not order a general mobilization on May 9, World War II Victory Day, as many analysts had expected.

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