(sunday PO) Russian forces withdraw from the Kharkiv region as Ukraine pushes a counteroffensive

[GuideToACrazyWorld]

SLOVYANSK, Ukraine – Ukrainian forces have broken through Russia's front lines in the east, retaking strategic towns and territory in a surprise counteroffensive that began just days ago.

Ukrainian officials claim to have recaptured some 270 square miles and the key towns of Izium, Balakliya and Kupiansk — all of which have been controlled by Russian forces for months.
Secretary of State Blinken offers big aid package on unannounced visit to Ukraine
Ukraine invasion — explained
Secretary of State Blinken offers big aid package on unannounced visit to Ukraine

In a video posted to Telegram, Oleh Syniehubov, head of Kharkiv regional military administration, records from Balakliya, showing the Ukrainian flag raised behind him. It is one of multiple social media posts purportedly of photos and videos of recently liberated Ukrainians celebrating the recent gains.

The deputy mayor of Izium, Volodymyr Matsokin, confirmed in a Telegram post that the armed forces of Ukraine are in the city, but said it's too early to say the city has been liberated. He says the military is working on it.

In his nightly address Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that more than 30 settlements in the Kharkiv region had been "liberated" so far.

While Russia's Ministry of Defense and the Kremlin have not officially acknowledged the counteroffensive, Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov confirmed that Moscow's forces withdrew from the city of Izium — a key regional transportation and supply hub for the Russian military in Ukraine's east.
Sponsor Message
Here's why the risk of a nuclear accident in Ukraine has 'significantly increased'
Ukraine invasion — explained
Here's why the risk of a nuclear accident in Ukraine has 'significantly increased'

"... to liberate Donbas it was decided to regroup the Russian troops in the area of Balakliya and Izium to scale up efforts in Donetsk direction," Konashenkov said in a video, even as Russian state media reporters on the ground insisted the move was taken to avoid a rout by Ukrainian forces.

Videos posted to social media showed long lines of cars piled up at the Russian border after occupying authorities called for a civilian evacuation.

A recent analysis by the Institute for the Study of War, a think tank based in Washington D.C., said that successes in the Kharkiv counteroffensive "are creating fissures within the Russian information space" and "eroding confidence" in Russian command.

[GuideToACrazyWorld]

Could this be any more embarrassing for the bear? I think this war has proven that out side of owning nuclear weapons Russia's military is no long a real threat to anyone.

[Tarmaque]

Could this be any more embarrassing for the bear? I think this war has proven that out side of owning nuclear weapons Russia's military is no long a real threat to anyone.

It is embarrassing for Putin, but it's also important to realize this is still a very small area in comparison to the total area Russia has occupied in Ukraine. I don't mean to sound pessimistic since this is a huge deal for Ukraine, but there is a long long way to go. One can look at this and hope it is the breaking of the dam, but more effort is needed. Ukraine keeps begging for more heavy weapons and they're getting some. But I don't think it's enough and the reality is "The West" doesn't have as much to give them as they'd like. It's important that we don't deplete our own forces, and realistically it will take quite some time for our defense industry to come back up to speed to fully arm Ukraine as well as our own forces. Russia doesn't have as big a problem with that since a great deal of their industry is built on supplying arms around the world. All they have to do is stop shipping arms to all the third world they usually supply.

But Russia has different problems. They're having serious difficulty recruiting soldiers, and the ones they do have in Ukraine are not well motivated. There are plenty of reports of them simply running away when confronted. They have the twin problems of their own veterans being used up in poorly planned operations, while at the same time allowing Ukraine to build up its stockpile of veterans. Veteran soldiers are always better than conscripts, and Russian is starting to rely on its conscripts and poor recruits tempted by big paydays.

The scary thing is winter is coming. Nobody wants to fight a winter war in Ukraine. However the good news is the armor and equipment being supplied to Ukraine by the west is modern and comfortable in all conditions. Russian armor and equipment is aging and poorly maintained. Perhaps a winter war will show just how ill-advised the Russian war was to begin with. Who would have guessed? Russia losing a winter war?

[Senor Natural]

Push 'em back, push 'em back -waaay back.
Russia is not a global power, is a regional power, a neighborhood bully.
Same with China.
Neither of them can do what we do - send half a million soldiers anywhere in the world, cycle new soldiers in and out, support them with air and sea power, supply them wherever they are - food, medical care, munitions, armor, equipment of all sorts, build bases, including air fields and ports and housing for them so they can attack whoever they want to attack whenever they want to attack them and as long as we feel like it.
When we get tired of wrecking your country and killing your men and inflicting collateral damage on you, we pack our stuff up and bring it and our troops back home. What we don't want to bring back, we destroy.
We are the only super power, only we can do that. We plan and train to fight more than one war at the same time.