Ukrainian forces advancing north of Kharkov, in addition to south and east, a day after their sudden territorial gains forced them Russians leave their main stronghold in this region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has hailed the offensive, seeing it as a potential breakthrough in the war and arguing that winter could bring more territorial gains if Kyiv gets more powerful hardware.

“In the Kharkov region, we launched an offensive not only to the south and east, but also to the north. It is 50 kilometers to the border (with Russia),” General Valery Zaluzny, commander of the army, assured. According to the general, since the beginning of the month, the country’s armed forces have recaptured more than 3,000 square kilometers.

From Moscow, the Ministry of Defense stated that Russian forces, with pinpoint strikes by airborne units, missiles and artillery, attacked the positions of the Ukrainian army in the Kharkiv region.

The largest defeat of the Russian troops

The withdrawal from the city of Izyum marks the worst defeat of the Russian forces since they left the outskirts of Kyiv in March.

Ukrainian victories are politically important to Zelenskiy as he tries to keep Europe united on the side of Ukraine — and supply it with arms and money — even as an energy crisis looms over the winter due to limited supplies of Russian natural gas to European consumers.

“I believe that this winter is a turning point and can lead to a quick liberation of Ukraine. We see how (the occupying forces) withdraw in certain areas. If we were a little stronger in arms, we would have been released faster,” Zelensky said at a political forum.

Fighting continues in the area of ​​Izyum and Kupyansk

The UK Ministry of Defense also said today that fighting continues around Izyum and Kupyansk, the only railway junction providing Russia’s front line in northeastern Ukraine.

As it turns 200 days since the start of the war, Ukraine has suddenly started talking about Russian missiles and airstrikes. Bombing also continues in the east and south.

The governor of the Donetsk region, Pavel Kirilenko, said that 10 civilians were killed overnight. Further south, nine people were injured in Mycolife.

On the other hand, the governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, said “thousands of people” had crossed the border to escape fighting in the Kharkiv region. According to Vyacheslav Gladkov, most of them found shelter with relatives and friends living in Russia. “Today, 1,342 people are accommodated in 27 temporary accommodation centers in the district. In general, the situation is under control,” he assured, explaining that in the afternoon there were no longer long lines of people at the border, in contrast to yesterday’s “hard night”, as he described it.

Source: APE/MEB