Ukraine forces advance after fall of Russian stronghold

Ukrainian forces kept pushing north in the Kharkiv region and advancing to its south and east, that country’s army chief said yesterday, just a day after their rapid advances made Russia abandon its main bastion in the area.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed Ukraine's lightning advances in the north-east Kharkiv province as a potential breakthrough in the six-month war, saying this winter could bring more rapid gains of territory if Kyiv can get more powerful weapons.

"In the Kharkiv direction, we began to advance not only to the south and east, but also to the north. There are 50 kilometres to go to the state border [with Russia]," Ukraine's chief commander, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, said on Telegram.

He added that the country's armed forces have regained control of more than 3 000 square kilometres since the beginning of this month.

The retreat from the city of Izium marked Russian forces' worst defeat since they were pushed back from the capital Kyiv in March, with thousands of Russian soldiers leaving behind ammunition and equipment as they fled.

"I believe that this winter is a turning point, and it can lead to the rapid de-occupation of Ukraine," Zelenskiy said in comments to a political forum published on his website late on Saturday.

"We see how they are fleeing in some directions. If we were a little stronger with weapons, we would de-occupy faster."

Paving the way

Ukrainian officials stopped short of confirming they had recaptured Izium, but Zelenskiy's chief of staff Andriy Yermak posted a photo of troops on its outskirts and tweeted an emoji of grapes. The city's name means raisin.

Kyiv-based military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said the gains could pave the way for a further push into Luhansk region, whose capture Russia claimed at the beginning of July.

"If you look at the map, it is logical to assume that the offensive will develop in the direction of Svatove - Starobelsk, and Sievierodonetsk - Lysychansk. These are two promising directions," he said.

The gains are important politically for Zelenskiy as he seeks to keep Europe united behind Ukraine - supplying weapons and money - even as an energy crisis looms this winter following cuts in Russian gas supplies to European customers.

International concern

In its daily intelligence update yesterday, Britain's defence ministry said Ukrainian forces continued making gains in the Kharkiv region over the past 24 hours. However, fighting continued around Izium and the city of Kupiansk, the sole railway hub supplying Russia's front line across north-eastern Ukraine, also recaptured by Ukrainian forces.

As the war entered its 200th day, Ukraine's military reported more Russian missile and air strikes on its targets overnight and regional officials reported heavy Russian shelling in the east and south.

Eastern Donetsk province governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram 10 civilians were killed overnight. Further south, nine were injured in the town of Mykolaiv, its mayor said.

Reuters could not independently confirm the battlefield accounts.

While fighting raged on, conditions at Europe's biggest nuclear power plant continued to be the source of grave international concern.