Monday, Ukraine continued to press its counteroffensive against Russia, claiming to have liberated village after village and to have forced the invaders back all the way to the border in one area in a sudden military maneuver that astounded many.
Oleh Syniehubov, the regional governor of the northeastern Kharkiv region, reported that “in some parts of the front, our defenders approached the state border with the Russian Federation.” On February 24, the first day of the invasion, Russian troops crossed the border in the area.
Russia stated that it was regrouping in response to the military events. The military’s allegations were challenging to independently verify throughout the battle.
The Kharkiv region’s electric power and water supplies have reportedly been restored to about 80% of their previous levels following Sunday’s Russian assaults on power plants and other infrastructure that caused the loss of energy in numerous areas across Ukraine, according to Kyiv officials.
Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv, praised everyone who helped make this most difficult night for Kharkiv possible by doing everything they could to return the city’s life to normal as soon as possible in an early morning Telegram message that read, “You are heroes!!!
According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, more than 20 communities had been freed on the previous day.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the defiant president, also recorded the upbeat atmosphere on social media late on Sunday. His words quickly went viral.
Do you still believe you can threaten us, hurt us, or coerce us into making concessions? Do you truly think you missed everything? You don’t know who we are, do you? What do we believe in? What we are discussing,” Zelensky urged.
Read my lips, he said further. “Your ‘friendship’ and fraternity’ are more terrifying and lethal to us than the cold, hunger, darkness, and thirst.”
“We will be with gas, electricity, water, and food… and WITHOUT you,” he continued.
Even so, the toll kept rising: the U.N. Human Rights Office reported last week that 5,767 civilians have been killed so far, while Ukraine’s presidential office reported Monday that at least four civilians were killed and 11 others injured in a series of Russian attacks in nine regions of the country.
The largest nuclear facility in Europe is now in jeopardy due to the Russians’ ongoing shelling of Nikopol, which is located across the Dnieper from the Zaporizhzhia power station.
International observers who foresaw bad times ahead for Russian troops supported the turn of events and crucial reversal of initiative. It was a stark contrast to the early stages of the conflict when Russian troops were making their way closer to Kyiv.
The British defense ministry reported on Monday that “Russia has likely ordered the departure of its forces from the entirety of occupied Kharkiv Oblast west of the Oskil River,” indicating a significant breakthrough by Kyiv. According to the report, Ukraine had reclaimed an area at least twice the size of Greater London.
The Russian military’s confidence in its commanders, according to the British, will undoubtedly continue to decline. A notable military maneuver thus far was Ukraine’s initial attack on the southern Kherson region, which attracted enemy attention there before it pounced on more thinly, manned Russian positions in the northeast beyond Kharkiv.
According to the British military, Russia is having trouble getting troops across the Dnipro River to oppose the Ukrainian onslaught at Kherson.
“The swift Ukrainian wins have important ramifications for Russia’s broader operational plan,” it continued. Most likely, the majority of the military in Ukraine is being compelled to prioritize defensive emergency measures.
The Institute for the Study of War, located in Washington, stated on Monday that Russia probably does not have the reserve forces necessary to strengthen its fortifications in Ukraine.
Despite the likelihood that the conflict will continue into next year, according to the institute, Ukraine has “turned the tide of this war in its favor” by making efficient use of Western-provided weapons like the long-range HIMARS missile system and effective military strategies. Kyiv will probably take more control over the place and type of major combat.
Russia launched missiles at power plants and other crucial infrastructure in an effort to stem the loss of momentum, but this decision was swiftly criticized by the US and Ukraine for focusing on civilian targets.
At least one person was killed as a result of the shelling, which started a huge fire at a power plant in the western suburbs of Kharkiv. The “deliberate and cynical missile strikes” against civilian targets were condemned by Zelensky as acts of terrorism.
Russia reportedly sent missiles to try and destroy vital civilian infrastructure as a reaction to Ukraine liberating cities and villages in the east. Bridget A. Brink, the ambassador to Ukraine, wrote.
Separately, as battles raged nearby, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the Russia-occupied south entirely shut down in an effort to avert a nuclear calamity.
