KYIV: President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday hailed Russian advances within the Kharkiv area and the recapture of a symbolic city additional south that was one of many solely prizes of Ukraine‘s underwhelming counteroffensive final summer season.
Moscow’s claims got here as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken introduced contemporary army assist throughout a go to to Kyiv and stated Washington had not explicitly prohibited Ukraine from utilizing Western weapons to strike targets inside Russia.
The Russian advances on two fronts level to the acute ammunition and manpower shortages crippling the Ukrainian army that pave the way in which for the Kremlin’s military to eat away at Ukrainian territory.
“In all instructions our troops are continually, day-after-day, bettering their positions,” Putin advised Russia’s army leaders, together with new Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, in a televised assembly.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has cancelled deliberate journeys overseas over the contemporary offensive and the army was sending extra troops to Kharkiv to carry again Russian advances, Kyiv stated.
The Russian defence ministry claims to have captured a handful of villages within the Kharkiv area, which is house to the nation’s second-largest metropolis, and on Wednesday added the settlements of Glyboke and Lukyantsi to its record.
But it surely additionally stated it had recaptured the southern Ukrainian village of Robotyne, considered one of solely a handful of settlements Kyiv retook at an enormous value in its summer season counteroffensive final 12 months.
Zelensky had visited the village in February and had hailed its recapture as a serious success in an operation in any other case plagued with setbacks. Afterward Wednesday, he claimed Ukrainian forces had managed to “partially stabilise” the Kharkiv entrance.
‘Extraordinarily tough’ combating
Moscow launched the shock main floor assault on the Kharkiv area final week because it seeks to advance throughout the battlefield with Kyiv struggling for arms and manpower.
The Russian advances have compelled the evacuation of round 8,000 civilians from the Kharkiv area underneath danger of being caught within the crossfire, Ukrainian emergency providers stated.
A army spokesman conceded earlier Wednesday on state tv that Kyiv had withdrawn troops — together with close to Lukyantsi — citing overwhelming Russian onslaughts and the necessity to save troopers’ lives.
Authorities in one other village underneath assault, Vovchansk, stated there was intense street-to-street combating within the border city that earlier than the conflict had an estimated inhabitants of 20,000 individuals.
“We’re right here and are evacuating individuals and serving to them. The scenario in Vovchansk is extraordinarily tough,” police chief Oleksiy Kharkivsky stated on social media.
The inside ministry introduced that three civilians had been killed within the Kharkiv area during the last 24 hours, whereas least three others have been killed in separate assaults on the areas of Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk.
Within the frontline Kherson area additional south, 19 individuals have been wounded by Russian shelling, native authorities stated.
Zelensky’s workplace stated the president had postponed upcoming journeys and reiterated that the army was dashing reinforcements to the world to stop Russia from punching by means of.
He had been planning to go to Spain later this week.
‘Troublesome’ combating in east
Some army analysts say Moscow could also be attempting to drive Ukraine to divert troops from different areas of the entrance line, similar to across the strategic city of Chasiv Yar within the Donetsk area, the place Russia has additionally been advancing.
“We are able to clearly see how the occupier is attempting to attract our forces away and make our fight work much less concentrated,” Zelensky stated on Wednesday, referring to the Donetsk area and the entrance additional south in Kharkiv.
Blinken’s go to got here simply weeks after the US Congress lastly authorised a $61-billion monetary assist package deal for Ukraine following months of political wrangling, unlocking much-needed arms for the nation’s outgunned troops.
Washington’s prime diplomat stated the USA was releasing $2 billion from the foremost assist package deal.
He additionally appeared to tacitly green-light Ukrainian strikes with Western weapons on Russian territory.
“We have now not inspired or enabled strikes exterior of Ukraine, however in the end Ukraine has to make selections for itself about how it may conduct this conflict,” Blinken stated.
Some Ukrainians reacted angrily to Blinken’s guitar efficiency in a bar in Kyiv late Tuesday, chastising Washington’s prime diplomat for collaborating in a jam session whereas troops are combating in trenches, struggling to carry again a Russian advance amid a scarcity of weapons.
Ukrainian officers have stated that greater than 30,000 Russian troops have been deployed to the northeastern area however that the primary hub of Kharkiv, the nation’s second-largest metropolis, was not threatened by the offensive.
Moscow’s claims got here as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken introduced contemporary army assist throughout a go to to Kyiv and stated Washington had not explicitly prohibited Ukraine from utilizing Western weapons to strike targets inside Russia.
The Russian advances on two fronts level to the acute ammunition and manpower shortages crippling the Ukrainian army that pave the way in which for the Kremlin’s military to eat away at Ukrainian territory.
“In all instructions our troops are continually, day-after-day, bettering their positions,” Putin advised Russia’s army leaders, together with new Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, in a televised assembly.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has cancelled deliberate journeys overseas over the contemporary offensive and the army was sending extra troops to Kharkiv to carry again Russian advances, Kyiv stated.
The Russian defence ministry claims to have captured a handful of villages within the Kharkiv area, which is house to the nation’s second-largest metropolis, and on Wednesday added the settlements of Glyboke and Lukyantsi to its record.
But it surely additionally stated it had recaptured the southern Ukrainian village of Robotyne, considered one of solely a handful of settlements Kyiv retook at an enormous value in its summer season counteroffensive final 12 months.
Zelensky had visited the village in February and had hailed its recapture as a serious success in an operation in any other case plagued with setbacks. Afterward Wednesday, he claimed Ukrainian forces had managed to “partially stabilise” the Kharkiv entrance.
‘Extraordinarily tough’ combating
Moscow launched the shock main floor assault on the Kharkiv area final week because it seeks to advance throughout the battlefield with Kyiv struggling for arms and manpower.
The Russian advances have compelled the evacuation of round 8,000 civilians from the Kharkiv area underneath danger of being caught within the crossfire, Ukrainian emergency providers stated.
A army spokesman conceded earlier Wednesday on state tv that Kyiv had withdrawn troops — together with close to Lukyantsi — citing overwhelming Russian onslaughts and the necessity to save troopers’ lives.
Authorities in one other village underneath assault, Vovchansk, stated there was intense street-to-street combating within the border city that earlier than the conflict had an estimated inhabitants of 20,000 individuals.
“We’re right here and are evacuating individuals and serving to them. The scenario in Vovchansk is extraordinarily tough,” police chief Oleksiy Kharkivsky stated on social media.
The inside ministry introduced that three civilians had been killed within the Kharkiv area during the last 24 hours, whereas least three others have been killed in separate assaults on the areas of Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk.
Within the frontline Kherson area additional south, 19 individuals have been wounded by Russian shelling, native authorities stated.
Zelensky’s workplace stated the president had postponed upcoming journeys and reiterated that the army was dashing reinforcements to the world to stop Russia from punching by means of.
He had been planning to go to Spain later this week.
‘Troublesome’ combating in east
Some army analysts say Moscow could also be attempting to drive Ukraine to divert troops from different areas of the entrance line, similar to across the strategic city of Chasiv Yar within the Donetsk area, the place Russia has additionally been advancing.
“We are able to clearly see how the occupier is attempting to attract our forces away and make our fight work much less concentrated,” Zelensky stated on Wednesday, referring to the Donetsk area and the entrance additional south in Kharkiv.
Blinken’s go to got here simply weeks after the US Congress lastly authorised a $61-billion monetary assist package deal for Ukraine following months of political wrangling, unlocking much-needed arms for the nation’s outgunned troops.
Washington’s prime diplomat stated the USA was releasing $2 billion from the foremost assist package deal.
He additionally appeared to tacitly green-light Ukrainian strikes with Western weapons on Russian territory.
“We have now not inspired or enabled strikes exterior of Ukraine, however in the end Ukraine has to make selections for itself about how it may conduct this conflict,” Blinken stated.
Some Ukrainians reacted angrily to Blinken’s guitar efficiency in a bar in Kyiv late Tuesday, chastising Washington’s prime diplomat for collaborating in a jam session whereas troops are combating in trenches, struggling to carry again a Russian advance amid a scarcity of weapons.
Ukrainian officers have stated that greater than 30,000 Russian troops have been deployed to the northeastern area however that the primary hub of Kharkiv, the nation’s second-largest metropolis, was not threatened by the offensive.
