Counter-offensive Near Kharkiv Sees Ukraine Drive Russian Forces Back

Ukraine claimed on Tuesday that its forces had retaken settlements north and northeast of Kharkiv from Russian soldiers, signalling a shift in the war’s direction and jeopardising Russia’s major advance.

Cherkaski Tyshky and Borshchova and Slobozhanske were retaken by Ukrainian forces recently, according to a press spokesperson for the 92nd Separate Mechanized Brigade (the major Ukrainian force in the region).

It has been a constant bombardment since the war began, and now Russian soldiers are no longer in range of Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, says an adviser to Defense Minister Oleksandr Reznikov.

Military operations in and around Kharkiv are a “kind of success story,” according to Saks, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Ukrainian soldiers could force these war criminals to a point where their weaponry could not reach.

Ukraine’s response might herald the beginning of a new chapter in the conflict, following weeks of Russia’s enormous assault without success.

The Ukrainians are now within striking distance of the supply lines that Russian forces have relied on since the beginning of the invasion, allowing them to retake control of the city of Kharkiv.

One of the Russians’ major weaknesses, according to RUSI think tank’s Neil Melvin in London, is “cutting in and behind the Russians to cut off the supply lines.”

This means that the Ukrainians are nearing the Russian border. It is thus becoming more difficult for Russia to hold on to whatever victories it won in Ukraine’s eastern regions in the early stages of the conflict.

Challenges

Despite the defeats near Kharkiv, Western capitals think Vladimir Putin had hoped to proclaim an enormous triumph on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, which falls on a Sunday this year.

For Victory Day on Monday, Vladimir Putin presided over a spectacular Red Square military parade. Western countries had feared that Putin may call a national mobilisation in the absence of big war successes. While he was encouraging the Russians to fight on, he gave no hint of what his next move would be.

According to Avril Haines, US National Intelligence Director, Russia is still planning a long-term conflict with the goal of expanding its control over Ukraine, which has been its primary emphasis in this month.

Haines told MPs that Putin was banking on a waning of Western resolve.

Russian forces have been using the city of Izyum south of Kharkiv as a base to encircle Ukrainian emphasis in the Donbas since they were forced to abandon an attack on the capital Kyiv at the end of March. As of this writing, the Ukrainian military has mostly resisted attacks from three different directions.

Russia may now have to rethink its strategy after Ukraine pushed back near Kharkiv, forcing it to protect its extensive supply lines to Izyum. Observers in the West reported the counterattack had already slowed Russia’s progress.

Because of the events in Kharkiv, Russia has had to reposition some of its forces away from key axes that lead to the control of the Donbas area, according to former US General Jack Keane, who is currently chairing an Institute for the Study of War think tank.

There were “demonstrable operational errors” when Putin underestimated Ukrainian opposition, according to the British Ministry of Defence.

Russia’s forces in the south continued their assault on the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol on Tuesday, attempting to seize Ukraine’s last stronghold of resistance in the ruined city where the country claims tens of thousands of people have died because of Russian siege and bombardment for over two months.

An adviser to Mariupol Mayor Petro Andryushchenko showed that at least 100 people remain in the steelworks despite the evacuation of scores of civilians in recent days.

According to a social media post by Ukraine’s Azov Regiment, which is still occupying Azovstal, 34 Russian aircraft have flown over the plant in the last 24 hours, including 8 strategic bomber flights. According to the report, the Russian fleet and tanks, artillery, and rockets had opened fire on the plant. Reuters could not verify the circumstances.

Russian missiles struck an Odesa commercial centre and a warehouse on Monday, setting up fires that firefighters battled into the early hours of Tuesday. Ukraine’s military claimed that one person was killed and five others were wounded. Missile attacks halted meetings between European Council President Charles Michel and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. Michel was speaking to Shmyhal.

According to the United Nations, over 6 million Ukrainians have fled their nation since Russia invaded on February 24. The UN claims this is the fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War Two.