The Ukrainian army headquarters said its troops were continuing to push back Russian forces stationed northeast of Kharkiv, which had loosened its grip on Ukraine’s second city, which has been relentlessly bombed since the beginning. of war.
The communities of Cherkasy Tychky, Rusky Tychky, Rubizhne and Bayrak were liberatedhe announced Tuesday night on Facebook. The enemy was pushed further from Kharkiv, and the invaders had fewer chances to hit the regional center.
Our armed forces gave us all the good news from the Kharkiv region. The occupiers were gradually pushed back from Kharkivalso argued with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video.
” I am grateful to all of our warriors who stand up and show superhuman strength to fend off the invading army. “
Regional Governor Oleg Sinegoubov confirmed in a Telegram message on Wednesday that Russian troops had retreated. even further of the city, giving them fewer opportunities to capture the regional center.
From intense fighting is still going on in the region, however, he said, before warning his fellow citizens against too hasty a return. According to him, Russian soldiers let go deadly traps by withdrawal.
In an interview Tuesday with New York Timesthe mayor of Kharkiv Igor Terekhov, testified that the city is starting to come to life again, and businesses are starting to operate again.
” For the first time since the start of the Russian invasion, we lived without being constantly bombed for the second consecutive day. “
The northern and northeastern districts of Kharkiv, a city with about 1.5 million inhabitants before the war, were hit for weeks by Russian rockets and missiles, causing the deaths of many civilians.
At the end of February, the Russian army tried to take the city, but in vain: Ukrainian forces resisted and pushed them back a few kilometers away, at the cost of bitter fighting.
L ‘Institute for the Study of War (ISW), an American think tank based in Washington, noted over the weekend that the Ukrainian army was working significant development in the Kharkiv region and he predicted likely to move to the Russian border in the coming days or weeks.
The center said Tuesday night that the Ukrainian counter-offensive is likely to force the Russian army to redeploy troops assigned to Izium in the Kharkiv region to prevent their armed brothers from pushing back on the border. Russia.
It threatened to shift resources to be used for the offensive in the Donbass, saidISW.
Towards an annexation of Kherson to Russia?
Authorities appointed by Moscow to lead the occupied Kherson region, in southern Ukraine, announced on Wednesday that they would demand its annexation to Russia.
There will be demand [adressée au président russe Vladimir Poutine] to include the Kherson region as a whole subject of the Russian Federationtold Russian agencies Kirill Stremoussov, deputy head of the military-civilian administration of Kherson.
All legal basis […] will be ready before the end of the yearhe said, adding that because the international community did not recognize the 2014 referendum on the Crimea union with Russia, the Kherson region will not conduct a poll.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to the idea of the merger saying he would return residents of the Kherson region to decide whether to conduct an appeal to the master of the Kremlin. This is a question that jurors must clearly and accurately study.He added.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak responded sarcastically: the occupiers could still request union, even on Mars or Jupiter, but the Ukrainian army would liberate Kherson.
The Kherson region is important for providing water to the Crimea. Its conquest also makes it possible to build a land bridge connecting Crimea, the pro-Russian separatist region of Donetsk, southeastern Ukraine, and Russian territory.
Its acquisition should also allow Moscow to launch an attack on the large port of Odessa, in southwestern Ukraine, without success so far, as well as north towards the cities of Zaporizhia and Dnipro. .
The fighting is still against Russians and Ukrainians outside the Kherson region, while, according to kyiv, Russia is still trying to advance towards the west and north.
According to Ukrainian authorities, 45% of the 300,000 inhabitants of the city of Kherson have fled since the end of February, and approximately 20% of the region’s population, estimated at one million inhabitants.
With two million hectares of arable land, this region is also an important part of Ukraine’s agricultural power. Kyiv accused Russia of stealing grain nets there, as elsewhere.
The Russian administration in Kherson has also announced in recent days the imminent introduction of the Russian ruble instead of the Ukrainian hryvnia. Television channels in Russia have been replaced with Ukrainians there and Russian mobile networks will be put there.
Source: Radio-Canada