Kyiv reports further land gains – advance on the Kupyansk railway junction
That’s how successful the counter-offensive of the Ukrainian armed forces is
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the recapture of the district town of Balakliya in the Kharkiv region. The army has liberated more than 1,000 square kilometers of Ukraine since early September.
Ukrainian forces make further ground gains east of Kharkiv. A video shows soldiers raising the blue and yellow flag in a city in the Kharkiv region. From there they advance further to the strategically important city of Kupyansk. An overview of the situation.
Dhe Ukraine reports further gains in territory in the south and east as part of its counter-offensive. The Ukrainian military announced on Friday morning that Russian troops were trying to remove injured soldiers and damaged military equipment near the eastern city of Kharkiv. This is happening in the villages of Wilchuvatka southwest and Borodoyarkse southeast of Kharkiv.
According to the General Staff in Kyiv last night, Ukrainian troops have already advanced about 50 kilometers behind Russian lines and have recaptured more than 20 villages in the Kharkiv region.
The attack extends beyond the town of Balakliya, east of Kharkiv, towards the town of Kupyansk. There is an important railway junction through which Russia supplies its troops when attacking the Donbass. In Kupyansk, the occupation administration ordered the evacuation of women and children.
According to a reporter from the Kyiv Independent, Ukrainian soldiers reached the city limits on Friday. Kupyansk is about another 50 kilometers as the crow flies from Balaklija. A push over that distance fuels speculation that Russian soldiers will have low morale and retreat.
The US military expert Michael Kofman believes that the Russian military leadership was apparently surprised by the attack near Balaklija. “Russian forces were spread too widely,” he wrote on Twitter. There are hardly any reserves there. In contrast to the rapid push to the east, Ukraine appears to be very systematic in its other counteroffensive to the south in the Kherson region.
On Thursday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video speech that the Ukrainian armed forces had “liberated dozens of towns” and recaptured an area of more than 1,000 square kilometers in the east and south since September 1.
Source: Infographic WORLD
Zelenskyj published a Video, which showed Ukrainian soldiers in the town of Balaklija, which had a population of about 27,000 before the war. In front of the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag, a soldier reported to the president about the capture. “The flag of Ukraine over a free Ukrainian city under a free Ukrainian sky,” Zelenskyy wrote.
Unverified Internet videos showed passers-by waving at the Ukrainian soldiers or hugging them tearfully. The administration used by Russia for the conquered areas around Kharkov claimed that Balakliya and the town of Shevchenkove were still under Russian control. The Interfax agency reported that reserves were going into battle, citing the head of administration, Andrei Alexejenko. The information was not independently verifiable.
Russian rockets hit the city of Kharkiv again at night, according to the local authorities. Several houses were hit, no one was injured.
US Secretary of Defense calls achievements ‘encouraging’
According to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Ukraine is making progress in its ongoing counter-offensive against the Russian attackers. “We’re seeing successes in Kherson now, we’re seeing some successes in Kharkiv – and that’s very, very encouraging,” the ex-general said on Friday on the sidelines of a visit to Prague.
When asked why the US did not supply the Ukrainians with missiles even longer than the existing Himars missiles, Austin answered evasively. “We remain committed and make sure we give them what they need to be successful,” said the 69-year-old.
The talks in Prague were about increased defense cooperation between NATO partners the USA and the Czech Republic. After meeting his Czech colleague Jana Cernochova, Austin said both sides are interested in concluding a corresponding agreement “as soon as possible”.
Ukraine demands compensation from Russia
“We want compensation for all the damage that Russia has caused in Ukraine through its war of aggression,” Justice Minister Maliuska told the newspapers of the Funke media group (Friday). The damage Ukraine suffered from the Russian invasion is now estimated to be much higher. But the sum of 300 billion US dollars corresponds to the balances of the Russian National Bank in the G-7 countries, which were frozen as part of the sanctions. Maliuska demanded access to it and to the foreign assets of Russian state-owned companies and confiscated the property of Russian oligarchs.
Germany should provide information on how much Russian wealth is parked here, the minister said. At the same time, Germany should support the Ukrainian project in the UN General Assembly in New York. Maliuska spoke to Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (FDP) in Berlin on Thursday.