Photo by Public Employees UA / Facebook
A counteroffensive in the Ukrainian south has long been announced. At the time of the announcement, many experts were not optimistic. After a few days of fighting in the South, notions of “failure” and “fiasco” began to emerge. The Ukrainians decided to invite us to the event in the Kharkiv region.
It was only a few days ago that the operational encirclement of Balaklija came to light. If anyone has slept and watched the progress of the Ukrainian armed forces in the last three days – it can be said with a sneer. He would think it was a fake. Ukrainians have already retaken 3000 km2 of occupied territory, liberating the western part of Kubiansk, Izhyum and other cities.
A detailed analysis of the functions can be found in the text by Marcin Gawda.
The Russians begin retreating from Wowczańska, the Ukrainians attack Łyman and Lisiczańsk, and there are battles for Donetsk airport.
said Wojciech Konończuk, deputy director of OSW The depth of the attack is more than 100 km In four days. Such speed can happen Only when creating success in the operational space after decisively breaking through the defenseand historically associated with the maneuver operations of World War II are considered intelligence.
Not only Izium in Kharkiv Oblast (occupied by March 24), but also Zyman in Donetsk (lost on May 28), 50 km away (lost on May 28), and Svata in Lugansk (March 8) are under Ukrainian control.
In 4 days, Ukrainians entered the occupied zone to a depth of 100 km. Huge win 🇺🇦!— Wojciech Konończuk (@W_Kononczuk) September 10, 2022
The Russian troops panicked and left large quantities of equipment and ammunition in their retreat. Among the most interesting achievements, we can mention:
Several T-72B3s:
Anti-tank mine PTKM-1R:
Zoopark-1M Artillery Reconnaissance RadarWho stood on the field and waited quietly for the takeover:
History of the capture of Zoopark-1 by the Ukrainians. Artillery reconnaissance radar was stationed in the field. All as planned, no panic.
– Bartłomiej Wypartowicz (@WypartowiczBa) September 10, 2022
Such gains confirm the rapid withdrawal of the troops of the Russian Federation and panic in its ranks. The Russians did not even have time to destroy the equipment left behind.
The Ukrainians are proud of their victories and press forward, while the Russians find an explanation after much thought. Nothing happened, everything is fine. This situation is very similar to the withdrawal after the failed operation near Kiev.
In order to achieve the assumed goals of liberating Donbas, it was decided to regroup Russian troops stationed in Balaklija and Izium to intensify efforts towards Donetsk.
Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
Time will tell how far the Ukrainian armed forces can go at such a pace. At some point, the Russians will have to regroup and form a new line of defense. The challenge for Ukraine may be the logistics and control of the rear and wings against possible counterattacks, on the other hand, this operation in principle has already expanded the area that can be fired by Ukrainian missile artillery (HIMARS, M270 MLRS). The Russians have no “safe rear”.