Ukraine has recaptured more than 700 square kilometers (270 square miles) of its territory in the east and south during a lightning counteroffensive, a Ukrainian general said Thursday, offering the first official assessment of the operation. The gains, if confirmed and sustained, would be a serious blow to Russia, which Western intelligence says has suffered massive losses. They would also represent a major boost for Kyiv, which wants to show its Western backers that it can change the situation on the ground by force and deserves continued support. Some of the biggest gains appear to have been made this week during a surprise Ukrainian counteroffensive in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region that saw Kiev forces make a sudden and deep push behind Russian lines. Brigadier General Oleksiy Gromov told a news conference that Ukrainian forces had advanced up to 50 kilometers (30 miles) behind Russian lines and recaptured more than 20 villages in the Kharkiv region. He singled out the role of Turkish-made Bayraktar drones. “Enemy infantry and motorized artillery units that are not protected by air defense systems become easy prey for our Bayraktars, whose number is constantly increasing, thanks to our volunteers,” Gromov said. A Russian official said Moscow’s forces put up strong resistance and prevented Kiev’s forces from capturing at least one key town in the Kharkiv region. Reuters could not independently confirm accounts on the battlefield. Gromov broke the news as US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Ukraine. Blinken was expected to announce $2 billion in new foreign military funding to Ukraine and 18 other countries at risk of future Russian aggression. About half of the money will go to Kyiv. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said earlier Thursday that President Joe Biden also approved $675 million in additional and separate weapons to Ukraine as he and other defense ministers met in Germany to discuss how to continue supporting Ukraine in the long term. US President Joe Biden was to reach out to allies and partners on Thursday to underscore Washington’s continued support for Ukraine, the White House said. The latest military aid announcements bring total US security assistance to Ukraine to $15.2 billion since Biden took office in January 2021, a US official said.
‘Good news’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had spoken of “good news” on the battlefields of eastern Ukraine the night before and thanked three brigades for what he called their bravery. In a late-night address to the nation, Zelensky had said: “This week we have good news from the Kharkiv region. All of you have probably seen reports about the recent activities of Ukrainian defenders. And I think every citizen feels proud of our warriors.” The Kharkiv region borders Russia and its main city, Kharkiv, has been hit by Russian missiles for months after Moscow failed to capture it in the early stages of its February 24 invasion. There is pressure on Kyiv to show progress on the ground before winter sets in, amid threats from Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt all energy shipments to Europe if Brussels goes ahead with a proposal to cap the price of Russian natural gas. Russia has confirmed fighting in the Kharkiv region but has not confirmed territorial losses, although unverified social media accounts run by Russian military experts suggest Moscow has suffered setbacks and needs urgent reinforcements. Ukraine’s presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych, in a video posted on YouTube, said Ukrainian troops surprised Russian defenders in the town of Balakleiia. “The Russians say that Balakleia is surrounded when in fact (our troops) have advanced much further,” he said. Vitaly Gadchev, a local pro-Russian official, told Russian state television that Russian forces had faced a Ukrainian attempt to encircle and capture Balaklia, which he said remained in Russian hands. Yuriy Podoliak, a Ukrainian often cited by pro-Russian officials, also said Russian troops were surprised by the Ukrainian advance. “The enemy had a significant success near Balakleia with a relatively small force… It seems that the Russian forces slept through this advance and waited for it elsewhere,” he wrote on the Telegram.
Energy battle
Ukraine has been talking for weeks about a major counteroffensive in the south, which is also underway, though details about it are sparse. Western military analysts believe Russia may have left itself exposed in other areas as it rushed to reinforce the south. Heavy fighting was also reported on Thursday in areas near the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, after Kyiv warned it may have to shut down the plant to prevent a disaster. Putin said on Wednesday that Russia would not lose what he called its “special military operation” in Ukraine, an exercise he described as an effort to pre-emptively protect his country’s security from an expanding NATO. Asked about the war’s progress, Putin said: “We haven’t lost anything and we won’t lose anything.” It also threatened to cut off all energy supplies to Europe if Brussels adopts a proposed price cap on Russian gas, the latest step by the West to deprive the Kremlin of funds to finance the war. Europe typically imports about 40% of its natural gas and 30% of its oil from Russia. The United States and France say Moscow is already using energy as a “weapon” to weaken European opposition to its invasion, with the main Russian gas pipeline to Europe, the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, shut down for maintenance. Putin has denied using energy as a weapon. The UN chief and the International Atomic Energy Agency on September 6 called for an end to fighting in a buffer zone around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, located in Russian-controlled territory along the front. Reuters Our Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.
