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The Ukraine military’s stunning offensive gained momentum Monday, reclaiming several more northeastern villages and forcing the retreat of overwhelmed Russian troops from the region.
A Russian-installed official in the Kharkiv region said Ukrainian forces outnumbered Russian troops by 8-to-1 and had broken through to the Russian border. Vitaly Ganchev told the state-owned Rossiya-24 television channel on Monday “the situation is becoming more difficult by the hour.”
Kyiv’s sudden surge comes after months of little movement, save for Russia’s small gains in the Donbas region. The encouraging counteroffensive has lifted Ukrainian morale and prompted criticism within Russia of President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation.”
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked 200 days since the war began by lauding the efforts of his military, which he said have liberated more than 3,700 square miles in the east and south in September.
“The world is impressed. The enemy is panicking,” Zelenskyy said. “Ukraine is proud of you, believes in you, prays for you, and is waiting for you.”
Ukraine’s tenacity, U.S. weapons and Russian disarray have been major factors in the Ukrainian counteroffensive that has led to the recovery of significant territory in the northeastern Kharkiv region that had been controlled by the invading forces for months, two senior Pentagon officials said Monday.
The counterattack, which sent some Russian troops across the border and back into their country, forced them to abandon substantial amounts of armor as they fled, one of the officials said. That indicates Russian military officers lack command of their forces, said the official, who along with the other one briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.
The headlong retreat of Russian forces reflects the enormous miscalculations President Vladimir Putin’s government made about Ukrainian resolve, western support and a Russian military riven with weaknesses, including poor morale and logistics, the officials said.
One of the key elements of western aid has been the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems supplied by the U.S., which have been used to destroy Russian command posts, ammunition depots and logistics hubs more than 40 miles behind the frontline, one of the officials said.
Ukrainian forces also made moderate gains against Russian troops the southern part of the country near Kherson, the other official said. Russian warplanes increased air strikes over the weekend, hitting some civilian targets, but Ukrainian forces continue to defend their airspace, the official said.
— Tom Vanden Brook
Ramzan Kadyrov, the Moscow-backed leader of the Russian region of Chechnya, and Boris Nadezhdin, a former parliament member, were among prominent Russians to publicly criticize the war strategy.
“Mistakes were made,” Kadyrov said in a Telegram post. He said that if a change in strategy is not made soon, “I will be forced to turn to the leadership of the Ministry of Defense, the leadership of the country, to explain to them the situation that is really happening on the ground.
