Chris Lange, FISM News
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Ukraine’s military continued their surprise counteroffensive on Tuesday, dealing another significant blow to the Kremlin as they recaptured Vovchansk, a town just two miles from Russia’s border which Moscow seized on the first day of the war. In a rare disclosure, the Kremlin acknowledged that it recently withdrew troops from some areas in the northeastern portion of Kharkiv.
The pre-occupation mayor of Melitopol in the southern Zaporizhzhia region also reported that Russian troops had pulled out from the city. Recapturing Melitopol would allow Kyiv to cut off Russian supply lines between the south and the eastern Donbas region. The city’s mayor, Ivan Fedorov, said retreating Russian troops had begun making their way toward Crimea.
NEW: The #Kremlin acknowledged its defeat in #Kharkiv Oblast, the first time #Moscow has openly recognized a defeat since the start of the February 2022 invasion of #Ukraine.
Read the latest: https://t.co/StS4n3Glgk pic.twitter.com/Ri4jTZvc4T
— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) September 14, 2022
Military analysts say it is still too early to determine whether the Ukrainian counteroffensive marks a turning point in the war in Ukraine’s favor.
Nevertheless, Ukrainian officials cheerfully heralded their latest successes, posting videos and images showing their forces burning Russian flags and posing beside abandoned, charred Russian tanks. One video showed Ukrainian border guards ripping up a poster that read “We are one people with Russia.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian forces were carrying out “stabilization measures” in reclaimed territory in the south and east while apprehending Russian troops and “saboteurs.”
In his nightly address, Zelenskyy vowed to restore normalcy in the liberated areas.
“It is very important that together with our troops, with our flag, ordinary, normal life enters the de-occupied territory,” he said, adding that residents in one liberated village have begun receiving pension payments.
Evidence of ‘torture chambers’ discovered in Kharkiv
The ebullient mood of the war-torn country was tempered by several reports of civilian torture in areas formerly held by Russia.
On Tuesday, Kharkiv’s regional police said they discovered a “torture chamber” allegedly set up by Russian troops at a police station in the town of Balakliya, which had been under Russian occupation from March until last week.
The head of the police force’s investigative department, Serhii Bolvinov, cited testimony from Balakliya residents who said Russian troops “always kept at least 40 people captive” on the premises.
Zelenskyy lashed out at Russian ‘barbarians’ in a tweet, saying, “6 months of [Russian] occupation of Balakliya, Kharkiv region: darkness, murders, lack of humanitarian aid. Barbarians don’t value human life,” he wrote.
Counteroffensive in north-east has confirmed once again: Ukrainians are waiting for 🇺🇦 Army. 6 months of 🇷🇺 occupation of Balakliya, Kharkiv region: darkness, murders, lack of humanitarian aid. Barbarians don't value human life. More on @United24media: https://t.co/OTvABqoJMb
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 14, 2022
Elsewhere, Ukrainian authorities reported that five civilians had been killed in Bakhmut, while 16 were wounded in the Ukraine-controlled part of the Donetsk region, according to regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.
Russia’s military ‘severely degraded,’ UK defense ministry says
The U.K.’s defense ministry said in an assessment of Russian losses that Moscow’s premier 1st Guards Tank Army had been “severely degraded” since the invasion as well as forces created to counter NATO.
British officials said the losses have set Russia’s ability to rebuild these capabilities back “years.”
Some analysts have suggested that the growing setbacks could reinvigorate Putin’s interest in peace talks with Ukraine; however, President Zelenskyy has repeatedly said that he will not entertain any efforts by Moscow toward peace until all Ukrainian territories are returned, including Crimea which Russia annexed in 2014. These conditions, according to Abbas Gallyamov, an independent Russian political analyst and former speechwriter for Putin, remain “unacceptable to Moscow,” while adding “so talks are, strictly speaking, impossible.”
Gallyamov said that Putin’s actions “have restricted his room to maneuver,” so he “wouldn’t be able to put anything meaningful on the table.” He also suggested that there is still an unlikely but plausible pathway to peace if Putin were to be “replaced by someone who’s relatively untarnished by the current situation,” including, potentially, Russia’s prime minister.
Meanwhile, British intelligence officials said Russia appears now to be using Iranian-made drones after Kyiv officials reported downing one Tuesday.