Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said his country’s forces had taken back 6 000 Square kilometers of Russian–held territory in the country’s south and east, as informed by British media The Guardian.
Ukraine’s forces have continued to press their counterattack in Kharkiv, seeking to take control of almost all of the province. Ukraine’s troops headed north, reportedly recapturing towns all the way to the Russian border, and a video circulated of a Ukrainian soldier at the centre of the strategic city of Izyum.
Russia’s military commanders have stopped sending new units into Ukraine after the counteroffensive, the general staff of the armed forces of Ukraine said on its Facebook page on Monday, 12 September.
«The military command of the Russian federation has suspended the sending of new, already formed units into the territory of Ukraine.»
«The current situation in the theatre of operations and distrust of the higher command forced a large number of volunteers to categorically refuse the prospect of service in combat conditions,» said the military command.
Russia responded to the counteroffensive by launching missile strikes that cut electricity and water supplies in Kharkiv city for a second time in less than 24 hours, knocking out both on Monday morning just hours after the city authorities had restored 80% of the utilities that had been cut overnight. Ukraine also said Russia launched 18 missile and 39 airstrikes overnight. At least four civilians were killed and 11 others wounded in Kharkiv city.
Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, appeared on state TV on Monday, 12 September evening, chairing a meeting on the economy.
During the meeting, Putin didn’t make any reference to the military situation in Ukraine.
The president just said that Russia was holding up in the face of western sanctions.
As Russian forces are pushed out of Kharkiv Oblast amid Ukraine’s counteroffensive, many of them are moving back into Russia, an unnamed U.S. military official told the news agency Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. Reports of Russian forces leaving their equipment behind, «could be indicative of Russia’s disorganized command and control,» the official said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian media The Kyiv Independent informs that some Russian soldiers are trying to negotiate with Ukraine on how they can lay down their arms.
Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia lost 2 850 troops and 590 pieces of equipment from 6 to 11 September. Forbes estimates is worth over USD 670 (EUR 659) million. Ukraine’s military has also reportedly seized 129 pieces of equipment, estimated at USD 104 (EUR102) million.
At the same time, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that a second back–up power line to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has been restored, enabling the operator to keep one line in reserve while the other provides the plant with the external electricity it needs for reactor cooling and other essential safety functions during shutdown.