The Ukrainian army, taking advantage of the redeployment of Russian troops to the south to face its counter-offensive, carries out a surprise attack in the North-East, recapturing important territories in the Kharkiv region, in addition to some successes achieved near Kherson (South). “Military units penetrated enemy defenses to a depth of 50 km. During the active operations carried out in the direction of Kharkiv, more than 20 localities were liberated,” said Oleksiy Gromov, a senior official of the Ukrainian general staff, at a press conference on Thursday.
Some 700 km2 in total have thus been taken back from the Russians, he assured. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) estimated Thursday morning the Ukrainian reconquest at 400 km2 of land.
“The Ukrainian move to draw Russian forces to Kherson is clearly one of the great strategic moves of the war,” judged on Twitter Phillips O’BrienProfessor of Strategic Studies at the Scottish University of Saint Andrews.