With the capture of several villages, Kyiv claimed to have taken a total of 500 square kilometers near the southern city of Kherson in two weeks. If this is correct, the Ukrainian army has quickly captured some 3,500 square kilometers from the Russians in the two offensives in the northeast and south. This is as big as London and environs.
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksi Reznikov admitted that the territorial gains also surprised Kyiv and that the offensive near Kharkiv “went better than expected”. President Volodymyr Zelensky again seized the opportunity to humiliate Moscow. “Do you still think you can intimidate us, break us, force us to make concessions?” Zelensky asked triumphantly on Telegram. “Did you really not understand anything?”
The Kremlin emphasized that President Vladimir Putin is continuously informed about the battle. After Moscow had already tried to sell Russia’s loss of ground in the northeast over the weekend as a “regrouping,” Putin’s spokesman said it will not change Russia’s war goals. “The special military operation continues and will continue until the original goals are achieved,” said Dmitry Peskov.
The Ukrainian army claimed to have taken 20 villages in the Kharkiv region in the last 24 hours. According to provincial governor Oleh Synjehoebov, the army had advanced so far in some areas that the military could see the Russian border. At the border village of Kozatsja Lopan, Ukrainian soldiers were welcomed by the residents with hugs. “Kozatsja Lopan is and will be Ukrainian,” assured Mayor Vyacheslav Zadorenko.
Largest arms supplier to the Ukrainian army
The Russian army responded for the second day in a row with air strikes and shelling of Kharkiv. The electricity and water supply was again interrupted. According to local authorities, the attacks were intended as “revenge” for Ukraine’s territorial gains. Residents of the liberated areas confirmed earlier reports on Monday that Russian units had withdrawn in a rush and panic, leaving behind much military equipment. “The largest arms supplier to the Ukrainian army,” the defense ministry in Kyiv sneered over a video of numerous abandoned Russian tanks and armored cars. “There is a tank for everyone,” a Ukrainian soldier says with a laugh.
The top pro-Russian official in Kharkiv province, Vitali Hanchev, claimed that the Ukrainian army was able to advance because of its superior numbers. He said there were eight times more soldiers on the Ukrainian side. Moscow had been forced in recent weeks by the Ukrainian offensive at Kherson to send reinforcements from the northeast and the Donbas to the south. This would have been at the expense of the defense of the Kharkiv region, at a time when the army is already struggling with a military shortage.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov went so far as to accuse the defense ministry in Moscow for having made significant “mistakes” in the withdrawal. Kadyrov said he would talk to Russian leaders if they don’t change their strategy soon. Kadyrov’s criticism is important, as he has supported the invasion from the start and sent troops to Ukraine. “It might not be nice if you tell someone the truth to someone’s face, but I like to tell the truth,” Kadyrov said.