According to the British Ministry of Defence, Ukraine has succeeded in recapturing a number of towns and villages toward the Russian border north of its second city of Kharkiv after Russia has reportedly withdrawn several units following heavy losses.
The current focus of Russian troops on the eastern Donbas regions means that remaining units deployed in the Kharkiv region are “vulnerable to the mobile, and highly motivated, Ukrainian counterattacking force,” according to an update posted on Twitter by the British Defence Ministry.
“The withdrawal of Russian forces from the Kharkiv Oblast is a tacit recognition of Russia’s inability to capture key Ukrainian cities where they expected limited resistance from the population,” it says.
It said the Russian troops would “likely deploy to the eastern bank of the Siverskyi Donets River, forming a blocking force to protect the western flank of Russia’s main force concentration and main supply routes for operations in the vicinity of Izium.”
Kharkiv, situated just 40 km (25 miles) south of the border to Russia, was an early focus of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and suffered relentless shelling for a month. Artillery attacks have, however, now reportedly become rarer as Russian troops seem to be pulling out.
(With inputs from agencies)
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