Ukraine’s forces are pushing their advance in the east and south, forcing Russian troops to retreat under pressure on both fronts.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine’s military had made major, rapid advances against Russian forces in the past week, taking back dozens of towns in regions in the south and east that Russia has declared annexed.
Military experts say Russia is at its weakest point, partly because of its decision not to mobilise earlier and partly because of massive losses of troops and equipment.
In the Kherson region, Ukraine has extended its area of control by six to 12 miles, according to its military’s southern command.
Zelenskiy confirmed the recapture of the villages of Novovoskresenske, Novohryhorivka and Petropavlivka, saying the settlements were “liberated from the sham referendum and stabilised” during a Wednesday evening address.
Kherson region’s Moscow-appointed governor, Kirill Stremousov, said Russia’s withdrawal was a tactical “regrouping” to “deliver a retaliatory blow”. The extent of Russia’s retreat remains unclear for now.
Ukraine’s minister of defence, Oleksii Reznikov, said his soldiers “continue moving forward” in its autumn offensive.
“While the ‘Russian parliament’ is intoxicated from the futile attempts at annexation, our soldiers continue moving forward,” he said in a Twitter post on Thursday. “This is the best answer to any and all ‘referenda’, ‘decrees’, ‘treaties’ and pathetic speeches.”
Putin appears to admit severe losses, vows to ‘stabilise’ annexed regions
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has appeared to concede the severity of the Kremlin’s recent military reversals in Ukraine, insisting Russia will “stabilise” the situation in the four Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia it illegally claimed as its own territory last week.
Putin told Russian teachers during a televised video call on Wednesday:
“We are working on the assumption that the situation in the new territories will stabilise.”
His comments appear to indirectly acknowledge the challenges Moscow faces to assert its control.
When later asked by journalists whether there was a contradiction between Russia’s annexation rhetoric and the reality on the ground, the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said there was none.
“There is no contradiction whatsoever. They will be with Russia forever and they will be returned.”
Ukraine’s forces are pushing their advance in the east and south, forcing Russian troops to retreat under pressure on both fronts.
In the Kherson region, president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine’s military has made major advances against Russian forces and recaptured the villages of Novovoskresenske, Novohryhorivka and Petropavlivka during a Wednesday evening address.
Ukraine has extended its area of control in the Kherson region by six to 12 miles, according to its military’s southern command. Zelenskiy confirmed the recapture of the villages of Novovoskresenske, Novohryhorivka and Petropavlivka, saying the settlements were “liberated from the sham referendum and stabilised,” in an address on Wednesday. Kherson region’s Moscow-appointed governor, Kirill Stremousov, said the withdrawal was a tactical “regrouping” to “deliver a retaliatory blow”. The extent of Russia’s retreat remains unclear.