It’s a result few dared hope for. But 10 days after the Ukrainian generals announced the start of their first major counterattack against Russian troops, the road to victory is gradually becoming clearer.
Through a clever tactic, Ukraine’s commanders pulled Russian troops south of the country before pinning them with a counterattack around the city of Kherson.
Some of Putin’s best men are now effectively trapped in the city, harassed by Ukrainian artillery and with no easy way to retreat across the Dnipro River after HIMARS attacks destroyed the main bridges.
That gave Ukraine the chance for a second – surprising – counterattack-Attack east of the city of Kharkiv, with a “fist” of tanks and infantry breaking through the thinned defenses there yesterday.
These troops are now advancing rapidly, threatening vital supply lines into the Donbass. like dr Mike Martin, a former British Army officer now at King’s College, put it on Twitter yesterday: “If [Ukraine] pull that off, it’s serious router time.’
Putin once again faces an embarrassing defeat. If his troops are forced to withdraw from Kherson and stop attacking the Donbass, even he will find it difficult to count the invasion as a success.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is celebrating its successes. According to a commander who spoke up today, troops have now reclaimed a total of 270 square miles of territory on both fronts — a long way from victory, but no small feat.
Here, MailOnline examines how Ukraine brought the war to this turning point…
Ukraine is conducting two major attacks — the first in the south of the country, near Kherson, where about 30,000 Russian soldiers are said to be pinned down. The second attack was launched east of Kharkiv yesterday and broke through the lightly defended Russian front line
Onwards to victory? A Ukrainian soldier jumps for joy and waves to his comrades as they ride on armored vehicles heading towards the front lines in Kherson
Kherson
Ukraine made no secret of their plans to retake this southern city.
Kherson, the only regional capital captured by Russian forces since February, straddles the Dnipro River, offering Putin’s men the only access to the west bank and keeping alive his hopes of an attack on the port of Odessa.
For weeks, officials told anyone who would listen that they were coming to retake it, continuing their threats of rocket and bomb attacks on nearby bridges, railroads, ammunition depots, airfields and command posts.
This convinced Russia that the threat was real and prompted a huge movement of men and materiel to the area. Around a dozen battalions are said to have been transferred to Kherson from eastern Donbass since May.
When Ukraine launched its attack on August 29 — with Southern Command spokeswoman Nataliya Gumenyuk saying the first line of defense had been breached — an estimated 30,000 troops were stationed there.
Ukraine launched its much-touted attack at Kherson on August 29, claiming to have breached the Russian front line. Since then it has advanced along three axes – one from Davydiv Brid, which has gained the most ground, another moving south along the Dnipro River and making modest gains, and a third southwards which has met with mixed success
Kiev’s men are advancing slowly but steadily into Kherson, pinning an estimated 30,000 Russian soldiers in the area – many of them all but trapped west of the Dnieper River after key bridge crossings were destroyed
According to analyzes by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Ukrainian troops have been advancing on three broad fronts since the end of August.
The most successful push was from the town of Davydiv Brid south towards Beryslav, a key river crossing, where Ukrainian troops forced the poorly armed 109th Regiment of the Donetsk People’s Republic to retreat.
Kiev’s men have now advanced some 13 kilometers south of their original position while fierce fighting is ongoing.
Another slow but steady advance also took place south of Kryvyi Rih, with Ukraine recapturing a handful of small towns and villages while pushing Russia back towards the Dnipro River.
The third front runs between the Ukrainian-held city of Mykolaiv and Kherson itself, where Kiev’s men have had mixed success.
Analysts from ISW believe they made some progress along the coast of the Dniprovs’ka Gulf towards the village of Oleksandrivka, but were actually pushed back along the important M-14 highway connecting the two towns.
Contrary to the vociferous preparation for the attack aimed at putting Russia on alert, Ukraine has said little about the operation now that it’s underway – and has appealed to people not to post footage of it online.
Both sides claim that the other suffered heavy casualties in the fighting, without giving their own details.
Kharkiv
Kharkiv was a forgotten front line for months. Not much attention has been paid to the fighting here since Ukrainian troops reached the Russian border in mid-May and were pushed back.
But all that changed yesterday when Ukraine launched a surprise attack east of the city, breaking through Russian lines weakened by the withdrawal of troops to Kherson and storming more than 12 miles in a single day.
ISW estimates they captured about 155 square miles in one fell swoop, with videos showing dozens of dead or captured Russian troops — including a lieutenant colonel — and positions overrun.
Balakliya, a town that previously housed key Russian bases and ammunition depots, was abandoned late yesterday, sources linked to the Russian military said.
Desperate Russian war bloggers suggested that the town of Izyum, the staging ground of Putin’s broader attack on the Donbass, was likely to be the next target. dr Martin of King’s College argued that a major railway junction in the town of Kup’yans’k was the real target of the operation.
Ukraine launched a surprise counterattack east of Kharkiv on September 7, advancing more than 12 miles in a single day of fighting after using a “fist” of tanks and infantry to break through poorly defended Russian front lines
Russian soldiers face a heavy Ukrainian attack somewhere in Kharkiv after Ukrainian forces broke through the front lines and began to quickly seize territories
Capturing the crossing would sever the main rail link between the Russian city of Belgorod and Izyum, and deprive Putin’s troops in the Donbass of supplies — particularly the thousands of artillery shells they need every day to fuel their attacks.
dr Martin of King’s College wrote: “Ukraine is taking advantage of the thinning Russian front lines to try and capture this railroad junction which will cut off supplies to Izyum, leading to the collapse of most of that front.”
Should that happen, Putin would have to give up even his most modest war goal of conquering the entire Donbass. It could also mean that troops have to retreat from already conquered areas to avoid being surrounded and captured.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi also reported on successes in the Kharkiv region in his nightly video address on Wednesday.
“This week we have good news from the Kharkiv region. You’ve probably seen reports about the activities of Ukrainian defenders, and I think every citizen is proud of our warriors,” said Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy’s adviser to the President, Oleksiy Arestovych, also spoke of Ukrainian conquests near Kharkiv late Wednesday, saying they would help cut off supplies to Russian forces in the region and potentially lead to their encirclement.
Videos showed dozens of dead or captured Russian soldiers, including a bloodied man (left) wearing epaulettes identifying him as a lieutenant colonel
