The Ukrainians apparently regained large areas of northern, western and eastern Kiev. However, Moscow had indicated a partial withdrawal. At the same time there was an air raid near the Russian city of Belgorod, the origin of which is not so clear.
Kyiv/Moscow/London. A good five weeks following the start of the war, Friday brought a special dynamic to the military processes in Ukraine. In the Kyiv area, for example, the defenders apparently managed to win back large areas in the north, west and east of the city; there were no Russians in the south. If the reports and pictures are to be believed, the Ukrainians are back at Ivankiv, around 50 kilometers north-west of the city limits of Kiev, and 70 km east of this at Shurivka.
In addition, Chernihiv, around 105 kilometers away in the north-east, might face relief. The Russians might not take the important city near the border with Belarus and had to bypass it in order to approach Kyiv via this axis. Certainly Hostomel Airport on the north-western edge of Kiev has been recaptured. On the first day of the war, it was the scene of a failed airborne operation by the Russians and was only occupied days later by units rolling over land. Hostomel is considered one of the most important focal points of the Ukraine war. Of course, Russia announced on Tuesday that it would withdraw its forces on the northern front. The aim might be to refresh them in the borderland with Belarus or there, but also to shift forces to the east: Recently, the general staff suddenly said that the real aim of the war was the “liberation” of the entire Donbass region.
