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Noted Belarusian Designer Reportedly Detained [1]
["Rfe Rl'S Belarus Service"]
Date: 2022-09
Ukrainian forces have recaptured 6,000 square kilometers in a counteroffensive this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on September 12 after a Russia-imposed official admitted Russian forces have been vastly outnumbered as the military pushes its counteroffensive in northeastern Ukraine.
"Since the start of September, our soldiers have already liberated 6,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory in the east and south, and we are moving further," Zelenskiy said in his nightly address.
Six thousand square kilometers is about six and a half times the size of the city of Berlin.
Just two days ago Zelenskiy announced the liberation of about 2,000 square kilometers. The General Staff of the Ukrainian military said on September 11 that Ukrainian forces had liberated more than 20 settlements in the Kharkiv, Luhansk, and Donetsk regions.
Russia-imposed official Vitaly Ganchev said earlier on September 12 on Russia’s state-run Rossiya 24 that Ukrainian troops had retaken previously Russian-held areas in the north of Kharkiv, breaking through to the border with Russia, and that "about 5,000" civilians had been evacuated to Russia.
According to Ganchev, the Ukrainian military outnumbered Russian forces by eight -to-one during the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the region that began last week.
Ganchev said that "the situation is becoming more difficult by the hour," adding that the border with Russia's Belgorod region was now closed.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's ongoing invasion, how Kyiv is fighting back, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.
His unconfirmed comments came as the Ukrainian military reports further successes, liberating areas in eastern Ukraine from Russian occupying forces.
Over the weekend, Ukrainian forces overran the key Russian supply hubs of Izyum and Kupyansk, where the Kharkiv region's Russian-installed administration had been based.
On September 11, Russia's Defense Ministry published a map showing that Russian forces had almost entirely abandoned the Kharkiv region.
Ukrainian troops have shared videos of themselves raising Ukrainian flags on buildings in the Kharkiv region and being greeted by grateful residents. Some of the videos show pieces of Russian artillery and tanks left behind by fleeing troops.
One video showed Ukrainian troops in front of a municipal building in Hoptivka, a village just about 2 kilometers from the border and about 19 kilometers north of Kharkiv.
Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synyehubov said Ukrainian troops had reclaimed control of more than 40 settlements in the region.
But as Ukrainian troops push the counteroffensive, there were fears that it could trigger an even more violent response from Moscow. Russia already launched missile attacks that hit key civilian infrastructure, according to Ukrainian officials.
Problems with electricity and water were reported in the Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, Zaporizhzhya, and Dnipropetrovsk regions, possibly impacting millions of people.
Ukrainian officials said Russia hit Kharkiv TEC-5, the country's second-biggest heating and power plant, and Zelenskiy posted video of the Kharkiv power plant on fire.
By the early hours of September 12, Kyiv authorities said that electric power and water supplies had been restored to some 80 percent in the Kharkiv region.
The city of Kharkiv lost water and electricity supplies due to renewed Russian shelling on September 12, which the mayor said was getting nearer the city center.
"The situation from last night has been repeated. Due to shelling, critical infrastructure facilities have been put out of action, and as a result, power has gone out in Kharkiv and the water supply was cut off," Mayor Ihor Terekhov said in a post on Telegram.
Later on September 11, Zelenskiy said Russia was targeting civilian infrastructure "to deprive people of light and heat."
"Russian terrorists remain terrorists and attack critical infrastructure. No military facilities, only the goal of leaving people without light and heat," he tweeted, adding a note of defiance.
Addressing Moscow, Zelenskiy wrote: "Do you still think you can intimidate, break us, force us to make concessions?.... Cold, hunger, darkness, and thirst for us are not as scary and deadly as your `friendship and brotherhood.’ But history will put everything in place. And we will be with gas, lights, water and food…and WITHOUT you!"
Separately, the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in the Russian-occupied south was completely shut down on September 11 in a bid to prevent a radiation disaster as fighting raged nearby.
On the battlefield, Britain's Defense Ministry said on September 12 that Russia had probably ordered its forces to withdraw from all of the Kharkiv region west of the Oskil River, abandoning the main supply route that had sustained its operations in the east.
In its daily update, the ministry said Moscow's forces were also struggling to bring reserves to the front line in the south, where Ukraine has launched a big advance in the Kherson region aiming to isolate thousands of Russian soldiers on the west bank of the Dnieper River.
"The majority of the (Russian) force in Ukraine is highly likely being forced to prioritize emergency defensive actions," the British update said. "The rapid Ukrainian successes have significant implications for Russia's overall operational design."
Russia's Defense Ministry has said the withdrawal from Izyum and other areas was intended to strengthen Moscow's forces in the neighboring Donetsk region to the south. The explanation was similar to how Russia justified pulling back from Kyiv earlier this year.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell discussed the success of Ukraine's counteroffensive with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on September 12.
EU support will continue, Borrell said on Twitter.
"Our strategy is working: help Ukraine fight back, put pressure on Russia with sanctions and support partners around the world," Borrell said.
The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said on September 12 that Russia likely lacked the reserve forces it needs to bolster its defenses in Ukraine.
While the war likely will stretch into next year, the institute believes that "Ukraine has turned the tide of this war in its favor" by effectively using Western-supplied weapons like the long-range HIMARS missile system and strong battlefield tactics.
"Kyiv will likely increasingly dictate the location and nature of the major fighting," it said.
With setbacks appearing to mount on the battlefield, the Kremlin said it was open to talks with Kyiv.
"Russia does not reject negotiations with Ukraine, but the longer the process is delayed, the harder it will be to reach an agreement," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on state television on September 11.
With reporting by AP, Reuters, dpa, and AFP
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