Lyman, Novopetrivka… The Ukrainian flag that flies over dozens of towns recaptured from the Russians is the symbol of the advance of the Kyiv army. In the last few hours, the Ukrainian troops have continued their military advances on two fronts: in the Kharkiv region (northeast) and in the Kherson region (south), pushing the Russians to retreat.
Significant decrease
Maps released Tuesday by the Russian Defense Ministry during its daily briefing show this significant decline. The map centered on southern Ukraine, compared to the previous day, shows that Russian forces have abandoned a large number of towns on the western bank of the Dnieper River, as the Ukrainian military conducts a counteroffensive in this region.
In addition, the map of the Kharkiv region also shows that the Russians have abandoned almost the entire eastern bank of the Oskil River, the last part of the region they still controlled, Moscow’s troops having also been defeated there by a Ukrainian. counter-offensive carried out for several weeks.
Advances “fast and powerful”
These important advances show that Kyiv continues to reconquer the occupied territories, despite the fact that Vladimir Putin has formalized its “annexation” by referendum.
Observers say Ukraine is working to recapture as much of its occupied territory as possible before Russia sends potentially hundreds of thousands of reinforcements to the battlefield, mobilized through partial mobilization in the country.
The Ukrainian military is making “rather rapid and powerful advances in the south of our country,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his daily address posted on social media Tuesday.
“Dozens of localities have been liberated this week alone” in the four regions annexed by Russia at the end of last week, he said.
The front line approaches Kherson
Currently it is in the Kherson region where the advance of the Ukrainian troops is most spectacular. This counteroffensive in the south, which had progressed much more slowly compared to the meteoric advance in the Kharkiv region in September, suddenly accelerated.
Ukrainian forces have advanced tens of kilometers into the southern region, liberating towns and villages and forcing Russian units to withdraw in recent days from a large swath of territory along the western bank of the Dnieper.
On the maps, the areas in light pink show the kilometers of recovered territory. Day by day, the front line is retreating and drawing closer to the key city of Kherson. “The city of Kherson is important militarily because the Ukrainians lost it at the beginning of the conflict, but it is also important symbolically because it is part of the territories that joined Russia through the referendums,” explains Emmanuel Dupuy, president of the Institute for Foresight and Security in Europe (IPSE).
“For the 25,000 Russian soldiers stationed in Kherson, it’s like a trap closing on them: they risk being surrounded,” explains Michel Goya, defense consultant for BFMTV.
Advance East
These Ukrainian victories in the Kherson region follow the recapture, over the weekend, of Lyman, a strategic rail junction. The Ukrainian troops have already passed through this city and continue their advance to the east. Their new military target is the city of Kreminna in the Luhansk region, where Russia has maintained its strongest hold, reports Nicolas Coadou, BFMTV’s special envoy to Ukraine.
The collapse of the Russian position in Lyman came just as the Kremlin was claiming that the city and the entire Donetsk region, as well as Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia, had been annexed by Russia.
As a result, Russian control over the Luhansk region, which had been largely unchallenged since June, is now also in jeopardy.
Source: BFM TV
