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- Ukraine says it regains 20 more settlements in one day
- Britain says Moscow likely ordered the withdrawal across the river
- Months of Russian gains were unleashed in a few days
KIEV/KHARKIV, Ukraine, Sept 12 (Reuters) – Ukrainian forces further swept through territory seized from fleeing Russian troops on Monday, as Moscow grappled with the fallout from the collapse of its occupation force in the north -Eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine’s general staff said early Monday that its forces had recaptured more than 20 towns and villages in the past day, after Russia acknowledged it was abandoning Izium, its main stronghold in northeastern Ukraine.
“Take them under full control and stabilization measures are being carried out,” the general staff said of the newly recaptured settlements.
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As thousands of Russian troops abandoned their positions, leaving behind huge stockpiles of ammunition and equipment, Russia fired missiles at power plants on Sunday causing blackouts in Kharkiv and the adjacent regions of Poltava and Sumy.
Ukraine denounced what it described as retaliation against civilian targets for its military advances. On Monday morning, Reuters reporters in Kharkiv said electricity had been restored, although the water was still not working. The regional governor said power had been restored by 80%. Moscow, which denies deliberately targeting civilian targets, had no comment.
Britain’s defense ministry said Russia had likely ordered its forces to withdraw from the entire Kharkiv region west of the Oskil River, abandoning the main supply route that had underpinned Russia’s operations in the east .
Kyiv, which reached Oskil on Saturday when it seized the central railway town of Kupiansk, suggested Russia was already falling further behind: the Ukrainian General Staff said Russian troops had abandoned Svatove in the province of Luhansk, about 20 km (12 miles) east of Oskil. Reuters could not confirm this.
The British ministry said Moscow’s forces are also struggling to bring reserves to the front in the south, where Ukraine has launched a major advance into Kherson province aimed at isolating thousands of Russian troops on the west bank of the Dnipro River. .
“It is very likely that the majority of the (Russian) force in Ukraine will be forced to prioritize emergency defensive actions,” the British update said. “Ukraine’s rapid successes have important implications for Russia’s overall operational design.”
UNPACKING
Firefighters work at a site of the fifth thermal power plant damaged by a Russian missile attack, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, September 11, 2022. REUTERS/Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy
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Ukraine’s fastest advance since pushing Russian forces out of the capital in March has turned the tide of the six-month war, chipping away in a matter of days some of the gains Moscow had made in months of costly fighting in the ‘East.
Ukraine’s top commander, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, said his troops had retaken more than 3,000 square kilometers (1,160 square miles) this month, advancing to within 50 km (30 miles) of the border with Russia.
Further Russian withdrawals, particularly east of Oskil, could soon put Ukrainian forces in position to attack territory that Russia and its local proxies have occupied since 2014.
Denis Pushilin, leader of the pro-Russian pro-independence administration in Donetsk province, acknowledged pressure from multiple directions.
“At least we have stopped the enemy in Lyman,” he said in an overnight Telegram post, referring to a front-line town east of Izium. “We have to see how it develops. But our guys have had clear successes.”
He also described “successes” in the fighting at Bakhmut, where Russia had long concentrated its offensive, and Vuhledar further south.
Moscow has so far remained largely silent since its front line collapsed in the northeast last week, with President Vladimir Putin and his senior officials withholding any comment on the “military operation special” that they have always said “would plan”.
After days without making any reference to the withdrawal, Russia’s defense ministry acknowledged on Saturday that it had abandoned Izium and neighboring Balakliia in what it called a pre-planned “regrouping” to fight in Donetsk.
Russian broadcasters, required by law to report only official accounts, have alluded to the setbacks but struggled to explain them, with commentators mainly calling for a redoubled war effort.
“We must win the war in Ukraine! We must liquidate the Nazi regime!” said a commentator on a panel show on NTV television.
“And how many years is it supposed to take?” answered another. “So my 10-year-olds will get a fighting chance?”
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Reports by Reuters journalists; Written by Peter Graff; Frank Jack Daniel’s Montage
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