Ukraine claimed on Tuesday that its forces had retaken towns from Russian forces north and northeast of Kharkiv, launching a counter-offensive that might change the war’s direction and jeopardize Russia’s main advance.
Tetiana Apatchenko, press officer for the 92nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, the major Ukrainian force in the region, reported that in recent days, Ukrainian soldiers reclaimed the communities of Cherkaski Tyshky, Ruski Tyshki, Borshchova, and Slobozhanske in a pocket north of Kharkiv.
According to Yuriy Saks, an assistant to Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, the victories have pushed Russian soldiers out of range of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second biggest city, which has been under constant assault since the war began.
“The Ukrainian armed forces’ combat actions surrounding Kharkiv, particularly north and northeast of Kharkiv, are somewhat of a success story,” Saks told Reuters. “The Ukrainian army was able to force these war criminals to a line beyond their artillery’s reach.”
The response might herald a new phase in the war, with Ukraine finally going on the offensive after weeks of Russian assaults that failed to provide a breakthrough.
By driving back Russian soldiers that have controlled the outskirts of Kharkiv since the beginning of the invasion, the Ukrainians are closing close on the supply lines that have been sustaining the main Russian offensive force farther south.
“They’re attempting to cut in and behind the Russians to cut off supply lines,” said Neil Melvin of the RUSI think tank in London.