Igbofam: Russian forces have gone ‘from the offensive to the defensive’ as Ukraine launches counter-attack on enemy-held town of Izyum
Ukraine appears to have won the battle for Kharkiv, a US report has said, as Russian forces retreated from around the eastern city due to an apparent lack of troop reinforcements.
It came as Ukrainian forces launched a counter-offensive to seize back the nearby Russian-controlled strategic town of Izyum in the east, threatening Moscow’s attempts to control the Donbas region by encircling it.
If confirmed, the failure to capture Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city, would be Russia’s second major defeat of the war after losing the battle for Kyiv.
It would be a stunning turnaround for Ukraine’s so-called “fortress city”. Kharkiv was almost surrounded and looked certain to fall in the first week of the war as Russian troops poured over the border, which lies just a few dozen kilometres to the north.
Russian forces were close to encircling Kharkiv in March, gaining ground around the city and pummelling it with artillery fire from the suburbs.
Constant shelling forced hundreds of thousand residents to flee or seek shelter in the city metro or underground shelter while airstrikes turned part of the centre, including the City Hall, to rubble.
But apart from once briefly entering a small part of the city, Russian troops have failed to make any inroads amid stiff resistance. That has left them with no choice other than to retreat, according to researchers at the US-based think-tank Institute for the Study of War.
“The Russian military has likely decided to withdraw fully from its positions around Kharkiv in the face of the Ukrainian counter-offensives and the limited availability of reinforcements,” it said. “Ukraine thus appears to have won the Battle of Kharkiv.”
The mayor has said Ukrainian troops have successfully repelled Russia’s attempts to take the city.
“They [the Russians] were very close to the city,” Igor Terekhov, mayor of Kharkiv, told the BBC on Saturday. “Thanks to the efforts of Kharkiv territorial defence and the Ukrainian army, the Russians have moved back far from the city towards the Russian border.”
“Kharkiv is quiet now, and people are slowly returning to the city.”
The apparent withdrawal has led some experts to suggest this might be the beginning of a “tipping point”.
Russian forces have “moved from the offensive to the defensive (conversely, the Ukrainians have moved from the defensive to the offensive),” said Dr Mike Martin, a former British Army officer and visiting fellow for war studies at King’s College London. “We’re reaching a bit of a tipping point in the Ukraine War.”
Yet, claiming an all-out victory in Kharkiv remains premature.
Shelling from retreating Russian forces Shelling could still be heard from central Kharkiv and in neighbouring villages on Saturday, including incoming rounds fired by retreating Russian troops.
Some shells fell close to Tsykurny, a village just north-east of the city that was recaptured by Ukrainian forces a week ago.
Rounds also landed near the village of Sorokivka, east of Kharkiv and south of the current Russian front-line, locals and soldiers stationed there said.
Russian forces are now believed to be focusing on seizing all of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the east, as well as guarding supply routes to those regions, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Saturday.
Hoping to build on their gains, Ukraine said it had launched a counter-offensive on Saturday near the Russia-held town of Izyum. Russia seized control of the city on April 1 and has occupied it ever since.
“The direction of Izyum remains the hottest spot – this is where our armed forces have launched a counter-offensive. The enemy is retreating on some fronts,” Oleg Sinehubov, the governor of the Kharkiv region, said in a statement.
The successes of Ukrainian forces in recent weeks has prompted Kyiv’s chief of military intelligence to say he was optimistic that the war may be largely over by December.
“The breaking point will be in the second part of August,” Maj Gen Kyrylo Budanov told Sky News. “Most of the active combat actions will have finished by the end of this year.”
But just as around Kyiv, the receding tide of battle around Kharkiv has left villages badly damaged, with many homes and power lines destroyed.
In your dreams abi, Ukraine is indeed winning the war but the images below is not Russia but Ukraine. I understand you wish Ukraine could win the war but it won't happen,..CNN or BBC is not good for your health.
donkdonk: This so called special operation was never to take Donbass. I say this because they have destabilized since 2014 and have been there since then[s]. Putin wanted to overthrow Zelensky in Kiev and control the whole country[/s]. He wanted to de-militarize Ukraine and install his puppet as CinC. He failed woefully in the capture of Kiev. Part of the strategic plan was also to take over the second largest city, Kharkiv and he failed again because he under estimated the resilience of the Ukrainian people. He also never thought Ukraine will get the massive support from the world they are gettijg now.
Why are you people so out of touch when it comes to information. You openly and publicly just type nonsense. BEFORE the special military operation, the state DUMA of Russia voted to recognize Donetsk(Donbass) and Lugansk as two separate nations. Again two new Nations were born. By that, it means Russia has recognized a new state and as such the primary reason for the special military operation is to clear out all the foreign boots on these two territories. Either by force or by signing a peace deal(without force).
This is why Russia decided to head Kiev to get a political solution without having to destroy anything or any Ukrainian infrastructure. The same thing happened in 2008 in Georgia. Did Russia remove Sakasvilli in Georgia? Russia got the political solution that recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia in Georgia so the destruction of the Georgian army or state infrastructure was not needed. Turns out Georgians are smarter people.
Please lets stop saying Kiev and Kharkiv are not strategically important, If they werent, why commit so much resources trying to capture them and encountering so much losses? Let the truth be said, in 2014, the world allowed him get away with a lot and he thought it will be business a usual. But he miscalculated this time.
If you have been to Russia, you will understand propaganda is their watchword. They are not as strong as they make the rest of the world believe they are. Give your people better food and job first before you start competing with world powers. How much is the basic salary of an average Russian before sanctions were leveled on them. What will be the situation now that they have loadz of sanctions already loaded? Economically, how many products have you seen tagged made in Russia,lets be honest?
The battle of Kharkiv has not started yet but since around march when Russia could not get a political solution to the conflict which is 1) Sign an accord that will be binding by both countries not to ever join NATO 2) Accept Donbass and Lugansk as two seprate NAtions. 3) Accept Crimean referendum in 2014 Russia has gone ahead to clear the whole of Donbass and Lugansk and now the whole of the South Region because it would be a buffer to Lugansk, Donbass and Crimea. Ukraine got the opportunity to mend wounds during the Minks agreement in 2014 but did not do anything. That time has long passed. Shelling and killing the Anti-coup state for 8 years. if you don't know today, the President that was removed by a U.S sponsored regime change in 2014 was born in Donbass. Do you know how many people support him in the Donbas?
Go and read about the history of Donbas, it belongs to Russia. It was Lenin that gifted it to Trotsky during USSR. Dobass was given to Ukraine as a gift. Guess what the outlawed Azov started doing when they removed Yanokowich in 2014. They started destroying the Lenin statue in the Donbass. Just imagine what will happen if South West decided to remove Buhari as we speak. What do you think will happen? It has happened b4 sef. During the Biafra war. Coup and counter-coup. In where a coup happens, it means one thing. That nation has lost its territorial integrity.
I wonder what Russia will do now that Finland has activated NATO membership and it looks like it will be fast-tracked? Will they invade Finland? We all know the answer to that question. They cant because they simply dont have the resources. Russia is bugged down in small Ukraine and we are talking of Finland and Sweden.
Finally my take is, Russia is not as strong as they made the world to believe they are, however even if they are, when a whole community decides to face you, it difficult to come out victorious.
If you throw a knife up 1 million times, which side do you think will land on the floor? Except you want to deceive yourself. in 2008, Georgia a country of less than 6million tried the NATO nonsense and got broken into parts. Ukraine which is 6 times bigger than Georgia when it comes to the population in 2014 also being dragged into NATO and 8 years later, it's being defeated.
Can you use the past to judge what will happen if Finland which is about 5million tries the same thing?
Do you know what is NATO? A protectorate state. Even Nigeria said a big no to AFRICOM base in west Africa. Till tomorrow there is no AFRICOM base. Nigeria is less powerful than Russia when it comes to Military. You need to understand what it means.
Keep deceiving yourselves. By August this year your eyes will clear.
Russia is winning, Russia is winning, yet the capture of Ukraine they said would take 72hrs is in its 82nd Day (almost 3 months)
Only Ukrainian troops are dying. Okay Ukraine is doing nothing. They are losing everyday yet the war continues.
You Putin Zombies don't think for yourselves. You only Spout Kremlin rhetoric. Read, Think for yourself and understand.
The only news you get is from Western sources. Get one thing clear - Russia is not fighting a war with Ukraine. The objective is to ensure that Ukraine is ineligible to join NATO. That has been achieved. You infants of Geo politics font get it and never will. Peace
The only news you get is from Western sources. Get one thing clear - Russia is not fighting a war with Ukraine. The objective is to ensure that Ukraine is ineligible to join NATO. That has been achieved. You infants of Geo politics font get it and never will. Peace
The only News you get is from Russian sources. Get one thing clear - Russia is fighting a war with Ukraine. The objective is to ensure Ukraine is defeated and Zelenskyy removed. That has not been achieved. You infants of Geo politics won't get it and never will. Peace
Igbofam: Russian forces have gone ‘from the offensive to the defensive’ as Ukraine launches counter-attack on enemy-held town of Izyum
Ukraine appears to have won the battle for Kharkiv, a US report has said, as Russian forces retreated from around the eastern city due to an apparent lack of troop reinforcements.
The hunter has surprisingly become the hunted. It came as Ukrainian forces launched a counter-offensive to seize back the nearby Russian-controlled strategic town of Izyum in the east, threatening Moscow’s attempts to control the Donbas region by encircling it.
If confirmed, the failure to capture Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city, would be Russia’s second major defeat of the war after losing the battle for Kyiv.
It would be a stunning turnaround for Ukraine’s so-called “fortress city”. Kharkiv was almost surrounded and looked certain to fall in the first week of the war as Russian troops poured over the border, which lies just a few dozen kilometres to the north.
Russian forces were close to encircling Kharkiv in March, gaining ground around the city and pummelling it with artillery fire from the suburbs.
Constant shelling forced hundreds of thousand residents to flee or seek shelter in the city metro or underground shelter while airstrikes turned part of the centre, including the City Hall, to rubble.
But apart from once briefly entering a small part of the city, Russian troops have failed to make any inroads amid stiff resistance. That has left them with no choice other than to retreat, according to researchers at the US-based think-tank Institute for the Study of War.
“The Russian military has likely decided to withdraw fully from its positions around Kharkiv in the face of the Ukrainian counter-offensives and the limited availability of reinforcements,” it said. “Ukraine thus appears to have won the Battle of Kharkiv.”
The mayor has said Ukrainian troops have successfully repelled Russia’s attempts to take the city.
“They [the Russians] were very close to the city,” Igor Terekhov, mayor of Kharkiv, told the BBC on Saturday. “Thanks to the efforts of Kharkiv territorial defence and the Ukrainian army, the Russians have moved back far from the city towards the Russian border.”
“Kharkiv is quiet now, and people are slowly returning to the city.”
The apparent withdrawal has led some experts to suggest this might be the beginning of a “tipping point”.
Russian forces have “moved from the offensive to the defensive (conversely, the Ukrainians have moved from the defensive to the offensive),” said Dr Mike Martin, a former British Army officer and visiting fellow for war studies at King’s College London. “We’re reaching a bit of a tipping point in the Ukraine War.”
Yet, claiming an all-out victory in Kharkiv remains premature.
Shelling from retreating Russian forces Shelling could still be heard from central Kharkiv and in neighbouring villages on Saturday, including incoming rounds fired by retreating Russian troops.
Some shells fell close to Tsykurny, a village just north-east of the city that was recaptured by Ukrainian forces a week ago.
Rounds also landed near the village of Sorokivka, east of Kharkiv and south of the current Russian front-line, locals and soldiers stationed there said.
Russian forces are now believed to be focusing on seizing all of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the east, as well as guarding supply routes to those regions, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Saturday.
Hoping to build on their gains, Ukraine said it had launched a counter-offensive on Saturday near the Russia-held town of Izyum. Russia seized control of the city on April 1 and has occupied it ever since.
“The direction of Izyum remains the hottest spot – this is where our armed forces have launched a counter-offensive. The enemy is retreating on some fronts,” Oleg Sinehubov, the governor of the Kharkiv region, said in a statement.
The successes of Ukrainian forces in recent weeks has prompted Kyiv’s chief of military intelligence to say he was optimistic that the war may be largely over by December.
“The breaking point will be in the second part of August,” Maj Gen Kyrylo Budanov told Sky News. “Most of the active combat actions will have finished by the end of this year.”
But just as around Kyiv, the receding tide of battle around Kharkiv has left villages badly damaged, with many homes and power lines destroyed.
Igbofam: Russian forces have gone ‘from the offensive to the defensive’ as Ukraine launches counter-attack on enemy-held town of Izyum
Ukraine appears to have won the battle for Kharkiv, a US report has said, as Russian forces retreated from around the eastern city due to an apparent lack of troop reinforcements.
The hunter has surprisingly become the hunted. It came as Ukrainian forces launched a counter-offensive to seize back the nearby Russian-controlled strategic town of Izyum in the east, threatening Moscow’s attempts to control the Donbas region by encircling it.
If confirmed, the failure to capture Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city, would be Russia’s second major defeat of the war after losing the battle for Kyiv.
It would be a stunning turnaround for Ukraine’s so-called “fortress city”. Kharkiv was almost surrounded and looked certain to fall in the first week of the war as Russian troops poured over the border, which lies just a few dozen kilometres to the north.
Russian forces were close to encircling Kharkiv in March, gaining ground around the city and pummelling it with artillery fire from the suburbs.
Constant shelling forced hundreds of thousand residents to flee or seek shelter in the city metro or underground shelter while airstrikes turned part of the centre, including the City Hall, to rubble.
But apart from once briefly entering a small part of the city, Russian troops have failed to make any inroads amid stiff resistance. That has left them with no choice other than to retreat, according to researchers at the US-based think-tank Institute for the Study of War.
“The Russian military has likely decided to withdraw fully from its positions around Kharkiv in the face of the Ukrainian counter-offensives and the limited availability of reinforcements,” it said. “Ukraine thus appears to have won the Battle of Kharkiv.”
The mayor has said Ukrainian troops have successfully repelled Russia’s attempts to take the city.
“They [the Russians] were very close to the city,” Igor Terekhov, mayor of Kharkiv, told the BBC on Saturday. “Thanks to the efforts of Kharkiv territorial defence and the Ukrainian army, the Russians have moved back far from the city towards the Russian border.”
“Kharkiv is quiet now, and people are slowly returning to the city.”
The apparent withdrawal has led some experts to suggest this might be the beginning of a “tipping point”.
Russian forces have “moved from the offensive to the defensive (conversely, the Ukrainians have moved from the defensive to the offensive),” said Dr Mike Martin, a former British Army officer and visiting fellow for war studies at King’s College London. “We’re reaching a bit of a tipping point in the Ukraine War.”
Yet, claiming an all-out victory in Kharkiv remains premature.
Shelling from retreating Russian forces Shelling could still be heard from central Kharkiv and in neighbouring villages on Saturday, including incoming rounds fired by retreating Russian troops.
Some shells fell close to Tsykurny, a village just north-east of the city that was recaptured by Ukrainian forces a week ago.
Rounds also landed near the village of Sorokivka, east of Kharkiv and south of the current Russian front-line, locals and soldiers stationed there said.
Russian forces are now believed to be focusing on seizing all of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the east, as well as guarding supply routes to those regions, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Saturday.
Hoping to build on their gains, Ukraine said it had launched a counter-offensive on Saturday near the Russia-held town of Izyum. Russia seized control of the city on April 1 and has occupied it ever since.
“The direction of Izyum remains the hottest spot – this is where our armed forces have launched a counter-offensive. The enemy is retreating on some fronts,” Oleg Sinehubov, the governor of the Kharkiv region, said in a statement.
The successes of Ukrainian forces in recent weeks has prompted Kyiv’s chief of military intelligence to say he was optimistic that the war may be largely over by December.
“The breaking point will be in the second part of August,” Maj Gen Kyrylo Budanov told Sky News. “Most of the active combat actions will have finished by the end of this year.”
But just as around Kyiv, the receding tide of battle around Kharkiv has left villages badly damaged, with many homes and power lines destroyed.
