Military analyst Rob Lee shared what he called a “pessimistic” account from a Russian source on the messaging app Telegram on September 7. The source wrote that Russian forces in the Kharkiv region are abandoning positions that are not particularly well fortified and that Ukrainian forces are bypassing towns and urban battles to advance deeper behind Russian lines. “They [Ukrainian troops] don’t engage in city battles…but leave our guys behind, surround them and hit them with artillery,” the source wrote, adding that the Russian troops left behind “don’t have heavy weapons and simply can’t face Ukrainians ». “Our forces dropped some troops in Shevchenko to contain the enemy. But Ukraine simply bypassed it on the outskirts, throwing a part of its forces to contain our troops, and successfully advanced on Kupyansk. Ukrainian soldiers stand in their armored personnel carrier (APC), not far from the front line with Russian troops, in Izyum district, Kharkiv region on April 18, 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A military analyst recently shared a “pessimistic” account from a Russian source saying that Russian forces in the Kharkiv region are abandoning positions and that Ukrainian forces are bypassing cities and urban fighting to advance deeper behind Russian lines. ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP/Getty Images “An hour ago, behind Shevchenko, I noticed a long column of foreign vehicles heading for glorious Kupyansk.” The source added that in general things are “pretty bad” in Kharkiv. “There is not much resistance from our side for the third day already. Our troops are abandoning the not particularly well-fortified positions and retreating.” Newsweek was unable to independently verify the claims. Igor Girkin, a former Russian military leader, weighed in on Kiev’s reported counter-attack on Kharkiv, saying Russian troops could be surrounded in Balaklia, an occupied city. Girkin, who prefers to follow Igor Strelkov, published his assessment of the situation on his Telegram channel as reports emerged that Ukraine’s armed forces had launched a surprise attack on the Kharkiv front this week. The former military leader, citing sources, said Russian troops had failed to contain Ukrainian soldiers. Girkin also said the new Russian recruits did not know how to use heavy weaponry in Balaklia and suggested there was an “unfortunate lack of training”. Girkin also cited his sources as saying that Ukraine is carrying out attacks with “extreme audacity” and “with armor and wheels … occupying positions.” He acknowledged reports that two Russian SOBR (Special Reaction Unit) units were reportedly surrounded in the area. Pro-Russian Telegram channels also reported the loss of positions and successes of the Ukrainian army in the region, saying that fighters with special police units from the Samara region and Bashkortostan were surrounded by Ukrainian troops. A pro-Kremlin Telegram channel run by blogger Volodymyr Romanov reported that a Russian unit was surrounded near Balakliya. The Rosich Telegram channel also wrote that SOBR fighters were surrounded. Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported Thursday that Kremlin-installed authorities in Kharkiv are evacuating women and children from Kupyansk and Kupyansky districts due to Ukrainian shelling. Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment.
