On the 200th day of the conflict, Ukraine has not said its last word. kyiv claimed this Sunday, September 11 new territorial gains on Russian forces in the East, where Moscow announced to withdraw its troops from certain sectors to “reinforce” the pro-Russian separatist region of Donetsk further south. How to explain such a dynamic? At the beginning of the month, the Ukrainian army first announced a counter-offensive in the south, before carrying out during the past week a surprise and flash breakthrough of the Russian lines in the North-East, in the Kharkiv region. .
In total, “since the beginning of September, more than 3,000 square kilometers have returned to Ukrainian control,” General Valeri Zalouzhny, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, said in a statement. “Around Kharkiv we have started to advance not only south and east but also north. We are 50 kilometers from the border,” he added. The Russian governor of the Russian region of Belgorod, bordering Ukraine, assured him that thousands of people had fled the Kharkiv region for Russia. “It was not the easiest night, it was not the easiest morning. Over the past 24 hours, thousands of people have crossed the border,” Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a video address, published on his Telegram channel. A little earlier, the Ukrainian General Staff had announced that “the liberation of portions of territory in the districts of Kupiansk and Izium in the Kharkiv region [was] in progress”.
The day before, kyiv had announced that its forces had entered Kupyansk, which is on supply routes for Russian troops. According to the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Ukrainian forces advanced in places to a depth of “70 km” and in five days recaptured “more territory than the Russians took”. conquered in all their operations since April”. In a video message, President Volodymyr Zelensky rejoiced that “the magnificent Ukrainian flag [floats again] over Tchkalovske”, in the Kharkiv region. “It will be the same everywhere. We will drive out the occupiers from every town and village in Ukraine,” he said.
“Weapons, weapons, weapons: this has been on our agenda since the spring. I am grateful to the partners who have answered our call: they share with us Ukraine’s successes on the battlefield “, wrote on Twitter the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Dmitro Kouleba, calling for the continuation of deliveries, mainly Western.
If the Ukrainian control of certain cities remains fragile, the New York Times evokes a possible “turning point” in the conflict “after the succession of territorial gains. The meteoric advance of Ukrainian troops in the Kharkiv region pushes the Russian army to withdraw its forces present “in the regions of Balakliïa and Izium”, in order to “reinforce” its device around Donetsk, further south, one of the capitals of the pro-Russian separatists. “We could see Russian tactical withdrawals in cascade and failures in various regions as a result,” said Mick Ryan, a retired Australian Army general who regularly tweets about the conflict. Meanwhile, the leader of the pro-Russian Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) separatists, Denis Pushilin acknowledged that the situation was “difficult” in the Donetsk region, in the Donbass mining basin.
The loss of Izioum, an important railway junction, is good news for the Ukrainian forces from a logistical point of view, assures Cédric Mas, military historian and president of the Action Résilience institute, on Twitter, Sunday September 11: “The liberation of Izium is a major victory for the Ukrainian forces, which have captured an immense mass of arms and ammunition. The material seized is important. Some of it can be reused, but above all it will no longer be used by the Russian army.”
The takeover of Kupyansk, a pre-war population of 27,000, by Ukrainian forces could also pose a serious problem for Moscow, as the town lies on supply routes to other Russian positions on the front line. Psychologically, this is a blow to Russia. “Kupyansk is Ukraine,” wrote a regional official on social networks, posting a photo of Ukrainian soldiers in this city. A little further south of Kupyansk, the return of Balakliïa to the Ukrainian fold also marks an essential success, since it is one of the crucial military supply centers. Journalist Shaun Walker of the British daily The Guardian posted a video on Twitter showing Ukrainian soldiers planting the two-tone flag in the city.
In areas taken over by kyiv, AFP journalists saw charred Russian trucks and armored vehicles on Saturday, some of which were still stamped with the letter Z, the symbol of the invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24. Ukrainian soldiers patrolled Balaklya, where the Ukrainian flag flew, hoisted in the presence of the commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, Oleksandr Syrsky. “Today we complete the liberation of Balakliïa, the first major city of our offensive, and I’m sure it won’t be the last (…) And still ahead, Izioum and many others,” said he said on this occasion. The head of the Russian occupation administration in the Izium region, Vladislav Sokolov, for his part admitted that the situation there was “difficult”. “For the past two weeks, the city has been targeted by bombardments by Ukrainian forces, in particular with Himar-type ammunition (…) which is causing serious destruction and causing many deaths and injuries,” he said. declared. Himars are multiple rocket launchers supplied to kyiv by Washington.
The Russian Ministry of Defense then announced that it had “withdrawn” its forces present “in the regions of Balakliïa and Izium”, in order to “strengthen” its system further south, around Donetsk, one of the capitals of the separatists. prorussians. In Lyman, a city that fell into Russian hands at the end of May, “the situation remains quite difficult, as in other localities in the north of the People’s Republic of Donetsk, its leader, Denis Pushilin, acknowledged on Saturday. In the village of Grakové, just taken over by Ukrainian forces, AFP journalists saw destruction testifying to the violence of the fighting, electricity pylons downed and cables spread on the ground. “It was scary, there were shelling and explosions everywhere,” Anatoly Vasiliev, 61, told AFP.
Iryna Stepanenko, 52, took advantage of being able to go out on her bicycle for the first time after hiding in her basement for three months. “It was terrifying”, she says about this underground life in the sound of explosions. Relieved by the return of the Ukrainian forces, she nevertheless says she fears for the future.