The chief of the Ukrainian army said on Sunday that Ukrainian forces continued to advance to the south and east of the Kharkiv region as well as to the north, a day after their quick advance forced Russia to evacuate its key position there.
The attack was welcomed as a possible turning point in the six-month conflict by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who also predicted that if Kyiv got more effective weaponry this winter, there may be more territory gains.
General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the top commander for Ukraine, said that since the start of the month, the armed forces have regained control of more than 3,000 square kilometers (1,158 square miles).
“In the Kharkiv direction, we began to advance not only to the south and east, but also to the north. There are 50 km to go to the state border (with Russia),” he said on Telegram.
Thousands of Russian soldiers left behind weapons and equipment as they fled the city of Izium, which they had used as a supply center, in the worst defeat for Moscow’s forces since they were expelled from the fringes of the capital Kyiv in March.
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Some pro-war commentators and Russian nationalists expressed enormous anger on social media in response to Moscow’s nearly complete silence on the setback or any explanation for what had happened in northeastern Ukraine.
On Sunday, some urged President Vladimir Putin to take quick action to guarantee the war’s ultimate victory.
Zelenskiy believes that Ukraine’s political victories are crucial because they will help him maintain Europe’s support for Ukraine by providing it with weapons and cash this winter as a result of Russian gas supply disruptions to European consumers.
Zelenskiy said Ukrainian soldiers will continue to advance.
In an interview with CNN that was filmed on Friday in Kyiv, he declared, “We will not be standing still.” “We will be slowly, gradually moving forward.”
Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine’s defense minister, said the country needs to protect retaken territory against a potential Russian counterattack on stretched supply lines.
He warned the Financial Times that if Ukrainian forces moved too far, new Russian troops may encircle them.
However, he stated that the offensive had worked more better than anticipated, comparing it to a “snowball rolling down a hill.”
It shows that “Russia can be defeated,” he said.
