“I think it’s fair to assess that Russia was caught by surprise with little in the way of reserves locally available.”
Michael Kofman, an expert on the Russian military at CNA — a Virginia-based think tank. Following increased counteroffensive moves, Ukraine has reportedly regained around 1,000 square miles of territory this month.
Published on
sep 12, 2022
Why It Matters: Sunday marked the 200th day of the Russia-Ukraine war. Ukraine began launching counterattacks in late August to reclaim lost land and so far, the attacks are making a difference. Russian forces withdrew from Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv, over the weekend.
- Since the counteroffensive began, Ukraine has reportedly reclaimed around 40 settlements in the Kharkiv region, which is about 30 miles from the Russian border. Russian allies "are at a loss about the current situation," according to Ukrainian Kirill Stremousov, a pro-Russian separatist leader.
- As Russian forces retreated from Kharkiv, they attacked power stations and other infrastructure. On Sunday night, Kharkiv appeared to be without power following the attack. Fighting also continues near a Russian-occupied nuclear power plant.
- Big Picture: Ukraine is increasingly reclaiming "broad swaths of the south and east in a long-anticipated counteroffensive," causing Russian forces to relocate. The Associated Press emphasizes that an increased flow of Western weapons throughout the summer has played a "key role in the counteroffensive." The U.S. just announced another $2 billion in aid last week.
Ukraine pushes big counteroffensive as war marks 200 days (The Associated Press)
Ukraine furthers gains in Kharkiv region following major breakthrough (Axios)
