‘Real progress’: is Ukraine gaining the advantage against the Russian army? – BFM TV

Ukrainian forces are carrying out two counter-offensives: on the southern front and on the north-eastern front. It is on the latter that the progress is more significant, pushing the Russian soldiers to withdraw from certain cities. Launched more than ten days ago, the Ukrainian counter-offensive to recover the territories lost to the Russian army bears fruit. According to the Institute for War Studies, 2,500 km² have been taken back. This Saturday, the Ukrainian forces made two announcements: the soldiers took over the city of Kupiansk, in the east of the country, and, at the same time, kyiv announced a military advance over “several tens of km” in the south, signs of this progress. An effective counter-offensive in the northeast For weeks, Ukrainian officials had announced a planned counter-attack in the Kherson region, in the south of the country. However this week, the counter-offensive was concentrated in the Kharkiv region in the northeast, taking everyone, including the Russians, by surprise. On Friday, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that thirty localities had been taken back from the Russian forces in this region. “We bring back the Ukrainian flag and the protection of all our people everywhere,” he said in a video address. It is in this region that Ukrainian soldiers planted their flag in the city of Kupyansk on Saturday. This is an important victory since this city of 27,000 inhabitants is on supply routes for the Russian army. It could significantly affect Russia’s ability to supply and provide logistical support to its positions on the eastern front. at this very moment several thousand Russian soldiers”, explains Matias Arraez, BFMTV special correspondent in kyiv. In particular, Izium serves as a launch pad for attacks to the south, in the Donetsk region. Moscow were on the defensive. “The very fact of breaking through our defenses is already a substantial victory for the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” Vitaly Ganchev told state television, adding that Ukraine’s advance had been “very sharp and swift.” , reports The Guardian. Faced with the situation, Russia announced on Friday that it had sent reinforcements to the Kharkiv region. This Saturday, it announced that it had “withdrawn” its forces present in the areas of Balakliïa and Izium in order to “regroup” them near Donetsk, further south, “in order to achieve the stated objectives of the military operation Special Liberation of Donbass,” the Russian Defense Ministry said. Balaklya is a city of 30,000 inhabitants, the largest conquered by kyiv forces since the start of the counter-offensive. At the same time, the leader of the pro-Russian separatists of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) acknowledged that the situation was “difficult” in the Donetsk region, in the Donbass mining basin, the scene of fierce fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces. Securing territories and isolating Russian troops” The Russians have lost the initiative, it must be recognized that they are moving towards a fiasco (…), it is a rather astonishing turn, “comments General Jérôme Pellistrandi, defense consultant for BFMTV. Senior American officials confirm t this Ukrainian advance. “We see Ukraine making real and demonstrable progress,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Friday, in remarks reported by The Guardian. we must remain cautious. “It does not mean that they will be able to recover all the territories lost since February 24”, he continues, “Their objective is to secure territory before the arrival of winter because it will be more difficult to maneuver at this time.” According to CNN, Ukrainian forces are seeking to attack Russian supply routes, with the aim of cutting off and isolating Russian troops west of the Dnipro River.