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This Thursday, kyiv announced that it had recovered 400 square kilometers of territory in the south and east of the country, annexed by Russia. On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski had announced the reconquest of three new villages by his troops in the Kherson region. The Ukrainian counter-offensive, which is unfolding on all fronts, seems to hurt Russian soldiers, but President Vladimir Putin has promised that the lost lands will be recovered.
On Thursday, October 6, Ukraine for the first time published figures on its territorial gains in the south and east of the country.
kyiv announced that it had managed to recover 400 square kilometers in 15 days, facing Russian troops that seem to be in difficulty, but who claim to keep their defenses firm and not give up their fight.
The AFU released thousands of kilometers in the Kharkiv region. The occupiers were caught off guard and became real suppliers of weapons for the Ukrainian army.
Learn more about the successful counteroffensive in the new episode of “Fight for Freedom”: https://t.co/n9RbCJ1Zqr
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 6, 2022
“Yes, our successes are quite conclusive. We will not name the addresses, but more than 400 square kilometers of the Kherson region have already been freed from the occupiers. And we are still moving forward,” a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian military command in southern Ukraine said on Thursday. country.
Since the beginning of September, the Ukrainian army has gone on the offensive on all fronts and has already recaptured most of the Kharkiv region in the northeast of the country, as well as key logistical locations including Izum, Kupiansk and Lyman; where the Moscow troops found themselves almost surrounded and were on the verge of disaster.
On the other hand, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, announced on Wednesday night that his troops had recaptured three other villages in the area, while confirming that the kyiv counter-offensive, reinforced by arms shipments from the West, was continuing. led by the United States.
Ukrainian forces say they have recaptured 29 cities from the Russians since Oct. 1.
Russia assures that the situation is stabilizing
kyiv’s statements contrast with those of Moscow, which assured for its part, in its daily report this Thursday, that “the enemy [había] been pushed away from the line of defense of Russian troops” in the Kherson region.
Russia claims that Ukrainian forces deployed four tactical battalions on this front, numbering several hundred men, and “attempted to break through Russian defences” near Dudchany, Sukhanove, Sadok and Bruskinskoye. Without achieving it, according to Moscow.
On the other hand, President Vladimir Putin tried to show confidence on Wednesday night and assured that the military situation “will stabilize” while his spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, assured that the lost territories will be “retaken”.
On Friday, September 30, on a day reminiscent of March 18, 2014, when the annexation of Crimea was ratified, the Russian president made official the annexation by his country of four territories in eastern Ukraine, that is, , almost 100,000 square kilometers of land, thus ruining any prospect of peace negotiations with its neighbor.
However, Moscow seems to only partially control the areas it has annexed and also seems to have military difficulties there.
Despite this, Putin on Wednesday signed a law enshrining the annexation of the four Ukrainian regions. To give legitimacy to these annexations, the Russian president has relied on the holding of self-determination “referendums” without “any legal value” in the eyes of the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, and denounced as a “farce” by kyiv and its allies.
In his speech celebrating the annexations last Friday, the Kremlin leader promised to defend Russian territory, including the newly annexed territories, with “all forces and means at his disposal.”
But at the same time, in Russian society, the atmosphere seems to be filled with anxiety, while the partial mobilization decreed by the president occupies the minds.
A survey of Levada Institute shows that the proportion of Russians who consider the “special military operation” a success has dropped since May from 73% to 53%.
AFP, Efe
