It announced its withdrawal from important towns after a rapid advance of Kyiv forces
Moscow admitted yesterday (Saturday) that its forces suffered a setback in Ukraine and were forced to retreat from important towns in light of a counter-attack by the Kyiv government’s forces, which made rapid progress on the southern and eastern fronts.
Ukrainian officials announced that their forces advanced “tens of kilometers” and were able to retake the strategically important Kobyansk, which had been occupied by Russian forces since the early days of their attack on Ukraine on February 24. Because of the direct railway from Kobyansk to Russia, this town, located 120 kilometers southeast of Kharkiv, is of great importance as a hub for transporting supplies for Russian forces.
In a clear acknowledgment of its retreat in the face of the Ukrainian counter-attack, Moscow said it was “regrouping” its soldiers in the Kharkiv region. “In order to achieve the goals of the special military operation to liberate Donbass, a decision was taken to regroup Russian forces stationed in the Balaklya and Izyum regions to support efforts on the front in Donetsk,” Major-General Igor Konashenkov said in a statement. Izyum, which had a population of 45,000 before the war, is of great importance to Russian military operations, and the withdrawal from it represents a major setback for the Russians on the Eastern Front. On Friday, the Russian army announced sending reinforcements towards Kharkiv in response to the breach by the Ukrainian forces.
On the other hand, spokeswoman for the Southern Command of the Ukrainian army, Natalia Gomenok, told local media: “Our soldiers are advancing along the southern front lines in various sectors between two and tens of kilometers.”
The latest British intelligence assessment, published by the Ministry of Defense on Twitter, said that some Ukrainian forces advanced “about 50 kilometers into the territory formerly occupied by Russia” south of the Kharkiv region. The assessment stated that Russian forces are under pressure from the northern and southern flanks of the conflict.