Russian troops have surrendered en masse in response to a swift Ukrainian counterattack that continues to gain ground today, leading some to believe that the war has now reached a turning point.
Kyiv’s military intelligence reported that a big number of Moscow’s soldiers had surrendered rather than battle troops marching east from Kharkiv because “they recognize the hopelessness of their situation.”
Oleksiy Arestovich, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, stated that the military has captured so many Russian soldiers in recent days that it is running out of space to house them; military intelligence spokesman Andrey Yusov added that a’significant’ number of Russian officers are among those captured.
Meanwhile, Russian troops fighting a second counter-attack in the southern area of Kherson were rumored to be discussing their own surrender after reportedly running out of ammunition, although specifics from the frontline are scant due to a news blackout imposed by Kiev.
According to Kyiv’s military intelligence directorate, Russian troops are surrendering en masse in the face of a dramatic Ukrainian counterattack east of Kharkiv because they “realize the futility of their situation.”
President Zelensky has stated that Ukrainian forces continue to advance in both the north and south of the country, while urging the West to continue delivering weaponry (pictured, Ukrainian forces in Vovchansk)
As they retake ground from Putin’s forces, soldiers participating in the Kharkiv counterattack tear down Russian flags in the city of Vovchansk, which is close to the Russian border.
As soldiers push Putin’s forces back across the border, the Ukrainian flag is raised above the city of Vovchansk, which has been under Russian control since the beginning of the war.
After severing Russian supply lines, a Ukrainian helicopter attacks in the country’s east from a very low height as the military seeks to get the upper hand.
Flares are shot from a Ukrainian helicopter onto Russian positions in the east of the country as Kyiv’s forces attempt to extend their advantage following a dramatic counterattack in the north.
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church requests that people pray for Putin.
The moment has come to pray for Putin, according to a dire warning from Russia’s leading clergyman.
According to recent remarks by the traditionally strongly pro-Kremlin Patriarch Kirill, Russia is experiencing a “period of disquiet” that is “extremely distressing.”
“Now is the moment to pray more fervently than ever for our Fatherland, for our President, and for our army,” he stated, so that the nation can maintain its genuine independence.
It follows the Ukraine’s surprise win over the Russian military near Kharkiv, which has led some to believe that a turning point in the conflict has been achieved.
The patriarch continued, “I want to reiterate that we are living in a very challenging moment.”
“Therefore, our prayer today is unique; we pray for our nation’s leader, Supreme Commander Vladimir Putin, who bears a unique responsibility.
Additionally, we pray for all battle commanders and those in authority.
So that the Lord grants them wisdom and power, shields them from sins and blunders, and inspires them to preserve our Fatherland from all external threats.
In Moscow’s Danilov Monastery, he stated that this comprised “perhaps the most dangerous and horrible threats.”
The prominent Kirill did not specify what he meant by “sins and blunders,” but he echoed Putin in urging, “We must hope that all risks will pass our Motherland, so that those who dream of crushing Russia as an independent, truly sovereign state will be left with nothing.”
Russia is not dependent on any power centers located outside of its sovereign borders.
This is a great privilege, but also a huge burden, as there will always be those who wish to draw a wealthy and powerful nation like Russia into their sphere of influence.
He stated that Russia had a “unique historical path” and a “global fatal mission.”
Today, this great mission is returned to our people and placed on their shoulders.
In a late-night address, Zelensky stated that Ukraine’s armed forces had captured a total of 5,100 square miles in the east and south since the beginning of September – an area roughly four times the size of Greater London – and he urged Western allies to provide additional weapons to help consolidate the gains.
Ukraine and the West must’strengthen collaboration to resist Russian terror,’ he added, while appealing for air defence systems to assist safeguard civilian areas that Putin’s troops have begun targeting as’revenge’ for their military setbacks, such as Monday’s bombing of power plants in Kharkiv.
The strikes, according to Zelensky, were “a manifestation of the despair of people who invented this conflict.”
He continued, ‘This is their response to the Russian defeat in the Kharkiv region. Since they cannot harm our soldiers on the battlefield, Russia is directing its vicious attacks against civilian infrastructure.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 with the intention of conducting a days-long’special military operation’ to put the country back under Kremlin control. However, Russia suffered a humiliating defeat around Kiev and was forced to retreat.
Putin’s commanders refocused their efforts and said that the new objective was to entirely ‘liberate’ the eastern Donbas region, where it was anticipated that the open countryside and closer proximity to Russia would contribute to better success.
The ensuing months of bloody attrition warfare resulted in massive deaths on both sides, while Russia made sluggish but steady progress under savage artillery fire.
But when that march stalled, Ukraine – which had had time to recruit and train new forces and equip them with newly provided Western weapons – launched a long-awaited assault to recover the city of Kherson in the south.
Moscow hurriedly sent soldiers south to defend it, paving the door for a second onslaught out of Kharkiv to smash through Russian frontlines and force troops to abandon the region.
As the war’s tide swung back in Ukraine’s favor, the country’s mood switched from one of harsh endurance to one of elation.
Authorities in Kharkiv praised the restoration of power and water to almost 80% of the region’s population following Russian assaults on infrastructure that knocked out energy in numerous locations across Ukraine.
You are true heroes!!!
Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv, posted on Telegram that crews have restored utilities in Ukraine’s second-largest city.
“Thank you to everyone who did all possible on this most difficult night for Kharkiv to quickly return to normalcy,”
As Russian military bloggers and other pundits criticized the Kremlin for failing to mobilize more forces and take greater action against Ukraine, symptoms of disorder surfaced in Russia.
Russia has consistently refrained from defining its invasion as a war, instead referring to it as a “special military operation” and relying on a small group of volunteers as opposed to a large mobilization that may spark social unrest and dissent.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the Moscow-backed leader of the Russian republic of Chechnya, publicly criticized the Russian Ministry of Defense for what he termed “mistakes” that facilitated the Ukrainian offensive.
A Ukrainian soldier assists a wounded comrade on the road in the liberated Kharkiv region, Ukraine.
A Ukrainian soldier beams from a military vehicle on a road in the liberated Kharkiv region of Ukraine.
Ukrainian forces are advancing fast in the country’s north after destroying poorly defended Russian positions and triggering a Russian retreat that has returned the entire Kharkiv area to them.
Ukrainian military vehicles pass along a road in the liberated region of Kharkiv, Ukraine
Even more remarkable, such criticism crept into state-run Russian television.
“Those who persuaded President Putin that the operation will be swift and successful…” Boris Nadezhdin, a former member of parliament, claimed on an NTV television chat show that “these individuals truly set us all up.”
We are now at a position where we must recognize that it is impossible to defeat Ukraine using these resources and colonial war tactics.
Some Russians attributed the losses on Western weapons and fighters.
The state-backed Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper had a headline that said, “NATO, not Ukraine, invaded Izium,” referring to one of the regions from which Russia claims it has evacuated soldiers.
According to Russia’s Tass news agency, residents of a Russian village immediately across the border with Ukraine were evacuated after shelling by Ukrainian military killed one person.
The local administrator of Logachevka was quoted in the paper as saying that Ukrainian troops opened fire at a border checkpoint.
Pro-Kremlin rebels said that Ukrainian forces were approaching Lyman, a rail hub taken by Russia at the end of May that provides access to bridges over the nearby Siversky Donets river.