In the 29th week of the conflict, Ukraine has gained critical success, taking back from Russian forces an estimated 8,000 square kilometers (3,090 square miles) of terrain in the northeast, dealing a serious blow to Russian morale and persuading their Western friends that Kyiv might overcome Moscow.
The latest victories on the battlefield imply that Kyiv’s objective of restoring the nation’s 2014 borders would be feasible. Ukraine has vowed to retake sovereignty of the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.
As his soldiers prepared to capture the vital town of Izyum, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared, “The entire Donetsk area would be liberated,” implying that Ukrainian forces would soon extend their advantage east.
However, US Vice President Joe Biden cautioned against having high hopes and that the fight would be “a long haul.” Nevertheless, Ukraine might have made progress in acquiring the weaponry it claims it so sorely needs.
The US is reportedly considering delivering the Western major battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles that Ukraine has been pleading for, according to the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung.
On September 6, Ukraine’s northern Kharkiv region counteroffensive got underway as another counteroffensive that had started a week earlier in the south was still going strong.
On September 8, Ukrainian forces captured Balakliia, their first significant victory, and came within 15 kilometers (9 miles) of Kupiansk, a crucial logistical base. According to Lieutenant General Oleksiy Gromov, Ukraine’s counteroffensive penetrated 50 kilometers (31 miles) beyond enemy lines, liberated 700 kilometers (435 kilometers), and established 20 villages.
The following day, the counteroffensive accelerated and liberated 30 villages across 1,000 square kilometres (621sq miles). Vitaly Ganchev, the Kharkiv administrator appointed by Moscow, acknowledged Kyiv’s “major win.”
In response to the Ukrainian offensive, the Russian defence ministry declared it was sending immediate reinforcements to the region. It published a video of a motorcade leaving Raihorodka in the Luhansk area, south of Kharkiv.
The western part of Kupiansk, which is situated across the Oskil river, was retaken by Ukrainian forces on September 10. They then moved south down the river to the outskirts of Izyum, which they retook the next day.
The counteroffensive marched to the Russian border at its northernmost point, capturing Vovchansk to the north of Kharkiv.
On September 12, Ukraine reclaimed 20 communities, restoring sovereignty as far east as Dvorchina on the west bank of the Oskil river and as far north as Ternova on the Russian border.
Russia claimed that its tactical withdrawal was intended to prioritize the battle for the Donetsk region in the east, but now that Ukraine has advanced to the Oskil, everything it has gained in Luhansk and Donetsk is vulnerable to a northward offensive.
