The Russian Army withdrew from its positions near Kharkov, giving up assaulting Ukraine’s second largest city, but continues to try to advance towards Donbas from the north, although so far with little success.
“In Kharkov the enemy has not carried out active military actions. It has focused its efforts on ensuring the withdrawal of its forces from the city, maintaining (…) the supply lines”, reported the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army.
This region, bordering Russia, has become in recent days the symbol of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, whose objective is to liberate not only Kharkov, but the entire area to avoid the encirclement of its troops in the north of Donetsk.
Withdrawal towards the Russian border
“The gradual liberation of the Kharkov region shows that we will not leave anyone in the hands of the enemy”, assured Volodímir Zelenski, the Ukrainian president, in his traditional evening speech.
According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the reason for the Russian withdrawal is both the Ukrainian counteroffensive and the limited ability to receive reinforcements from Russia.
“Ukraine seems to have won the Battle of Kharkiv. The Ukrainian forces have prevented the Russian troops from encircling, let alone taking Kharkov, and then expelled them from the outskirts of the city as they did when the Russians tried to conquer kyiv”, he points out.
Now, Ukrainian troops should focus on breaking Russian supply lines between the enemy stronghold of Izium and the neighboring Russian region of Belgorod.
The numerous river courses impede progress from one to the other, especially the Severski Donets River, where the Russians reported this Saturday that they had blown up a pontoon through which the Ukrainian troops were trying to advance.
“ The Russians constantly hammered Kharkiv with artillery, as they were so close to the city. Thanks to the efforts of the territorial defense units and the Army, the Russians have left far from the fringes of the city in the direction of the border”, assured Igor Teréjov, mayor of the city.
Heading for Donbas
The Russian Ministry of Defense disclosed this Sunday some images in which members of the airborne forces participate in an offensive, but without specifying the areas where it takes place.
In the last week, Russian troops have made “little progress” in their attempt to attack the main Ukrainian square in Donetsk, Kramatorsk, according to the ISW.
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the Russian artillery has not stopped hitting the towns that lead to the Sloviansk communications hub.
The Russian generals appealed in vain to international organizations to evacuate both towns, where the Ukrainians would have created a distri
The Russians continue to attempt to encircle the last two key cities under Ukrainian control in the Lugansk region, Severodonetsk and, to a lesser extent, Lisichansk, both banks of the Severski Donets River.
The fact is that the Ukrainian forces have also directed their counteroffensive against Izium, so time is running against the plans of the Russian Army.
“The hottest point is still the Izium area, where our forces have gone on the counterattack. The enemy is withdrawing in some areas”, reported Oleg Sinegubov, head of the Kharkov military administration. .200 casualties in the Russian ranks after the elimination of others 300 enemy soldiers in the last 24 hours, to which must be added more than 4.000 tanks and armor.
However, the adviser to the Minister of the Interior, Rostislav Smirnov, He clarified that kyiv does not plan to rush into its counteroffensive and suffer many casualties, as happened with the Red Army, which lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the capture of Berlin during World War II.
Third phase of the war in Ukraine
Zelensky received representatives of the US Congress, which he asked to toughen sanctions against Russia for the crimes it has committed on Ukrainian territory.
“Furthermore, we believe that Russia must be officially recognized as a country sponsor of terrorism. Such crimes have not been seen in Europe since the Second World War”, he said.
He recalled that the Russian “aggression”, which includes the blockade of Ukrainian ports, is causing a food crisis worldwide.
“Russian officials are openly threatening the world with a famine in dozens of countries”, he denounced.
In turn, he acknowledged that he cannot predict how long the war will last, but that his priority is: “Quickly liberate our land and (…) work daily to make the war shorter”.
The head of the Ukrainian military intelligence, Kirill Budánov, predicted to the British media that the key moment in the conflict will come “ in mid-August”.
“Most of the military actions will conclude before the end of of year. As a result, we will restore power in all territories, including Donbas and Crimea”, he predicted.
He admitted that “Europe sees Russia as a great threat”, but that, after fighting with the Russian Army for eight years, kyiv has concluded that “the much publicized Russian power is a myth”.
“It is not that strong. It is a horde with weapons. We know everything about our enemies. We know their plans almost as soon as they are prepared”, he pointed out.
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