In its counter-offensive in the east of the country, the Ukrainian army penetrated deep into the rear of the occupying Russian troops. President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Thursday evening the recapture of the district town of Balakliya in the Kharkiv region. The army has liberated more than 1,000 square kilometers of Ukraine since early September, he said in his video address.
“As part of ongoing defensive operations, our heroes have already liberated dozens of settlements,” he said. “Ukraine is and will be free,” he promised. However, according to earlier reports, Russian troops occupied around 125,000 square kilometers in Ukraine. That is one-fifth of the country’s territory, including the Crimean Peninsula.
Kyiv wants war indemnities
According to Justice Minister Denys Maliuska, Ukraine wants to push through war reparations from Russia of at least 300 billion US dollars (regarding 300 billion euros). At the UN General Assembly, Kyiv wants to achieve a resolution as the cornerstone for an international reparation mechanism, said Maliuska on a visit to Berlin. For Ukraine, Friday is the 198th day of fighting once morest the Russian invasion.
The small town of Balaklija, which had a population of around 27,000 before the war, had been occupied by Russian troops for several months. As evidence of the recapture, Selensky published a video allegedly filmed at the town hall. In front of the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag, a soldier reported to the president regarding the capture of the city. “The flag of Ukraine over a free Ukrainian city under a free Ukrainian sky,” Zelensky wrote.
Unverified Internet videos showed passers-by waving at the Ukrainian soldiers or hugging them tearfully. The administration used by Russia for the conquered areas around Kharkov claimed that Balaklija and the town of Shevchenkove were still under Russian control. The Interfax agency reported that reserves were going into battle, citing the head of administration, Andrei Alexejenko. The information was not independently verifiable.
Russia ordered evacuation of Kupjansk an
According to the General Staff in Kyiv, the Ukrainian troops have already advanced regarding 50 kilometers to the east. The attack extends beyond Balakliya towards the town of Kupyansk. There is an important railway junction through which Russia supplies its troops when attacking the Donbass. In Kupyansk, the occupation administration ordered the evacuation of women and children.
Russian troops surprised
The Russian military leadership was apparently surprised by the attack near Balaklija, analyzed US military expert Michael Kofman on Twitter. “Russian forces were too spread out.” There are hardly any reserves there. In contrast to the rapid push to the east, Ukraine’s other counter-offensive to the south in the Kherson region appears to be very systematic.
Russian rockets hit the city of Kharkiv once more at night, according to the local authorities. Several houses were hit, no one was injured.
