Russia can no longer advance on Bakhmut or Donetsk from the north, meaning any advances towards the cities “have lost any real operational significance, informs Ukrainian media The Kyiv Independent.
Using HIMARS and other Western weapons, Ukraine was able to inflict major operational losses on Russia and recapture most of Kharkiv Oblast. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) report noted that the counteroffensive in Kherson Oblast is still making gains along the Dnipro River.
Roman Holovnia, an adviser to Kherson’s mayor, told Espresso TV channel that Russian forces have stopped the transportation of humanitarian aid by land transport to Kherson Oblast from Vasylivka.
According to news agency CNN, Ukrainian military’s general staff said that Russian forces had abandoned the town of Svatove in Luhansk region, a town that until Saturday was still 40 kilometers (25 miles) beyond the known front line of the Ukrainian advance. Svatove has been an important hub on Russian resupply routes to the front lines further south – along the borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Ukraine’s top military commander claimed that since the beginning of September, more than 3 000 square kilometers have been returned to the control of Ukraine.
That is more territory than Russian forces have captured in all their operations in Ukraine since April. Villages within five kilometers of the border were raising the Ukrainian flag.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has accused Russia of launching cruise missile attacks on Kharkiv in «revenge» for the battlefield defeats the invading force has suffered in recent days, as informed by British media The Guardian.
The mayor of Kharkiv city, Ihor Terekhov, said one cruise missile attack had cut electricity and water supplies to the city. There were also reports of blackouts in Dnipro, Poltava and other eastern cities, potentially affecting millions of civilians, but Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of president Volodomyr Zelenskiy’s office, said later that power had been restored in some regions.
In a nightly message on Telegram, the Ukrainian president said that although the Kremlin was trying to deprive his people of «gas, light, water and food», it would not succeed in defeating them.
«Do you still think that you can scare us, break us, make us make concessions?» Zelenskiy asked in his address to Russian occupants.
Roman Holovnia, an adviser to Kherson’s mayor, told Espresso TV channel that Russian forces have stopped the transportation of humanitarian aid by land transport to Kherson Oblast from Vasylivka. According to Holovnia, vulnerable populations are suffering, and the blockade of humanitarian aid will worsen the situation.
Moscow’s leadership has remained silent on the defeats in Ukraine, with neither President Vladimir Putin nor his defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, making any comment as of midday on Sunday, September 9.
At the same time French President Emmanuel Macron in a phone call requested Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to withdraw both heavy and light weapons from the plant and ensure the site’s safety by following the International Atomic Energy Agency’s recommendations.
While Latvian president Egils Levits while being on his official visit in Kyiv gave interview to The Kyiv Independent in which he said: «We can understand the feelings of Ukrainians because of our history. We were occupied for 50 years by Russians. We see the same (aggressive) ideology now attacking Ukraine. And we completely understand that feeling of injustice and this tragedy that happens to Ukraine, and, therefore, of course, we are supporting Ukraine, supporting militarily, supporting economically, and supporting politically. I would say, it’s quite natural for us.»