One day before Russia announced its three-day operation to redeploy forces from Kharkiv to the industrial Donbas region further south it said it was dispatching reinforcements to Kharkiv. Ukraine's push appears to have caught Russian troops largely off guard. His assessment came after President Volodymyr Zelensky said late Friday his troops had already retaken some 30 towns and villages in the northeastern Kharkiv region. Defeating Russia on the battlefield means winning peace in Ukraine," he added. "It's crucial to keep sending arms to Ukraine. Their courage coupled with Western military support brings astonishing results," foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said in a statement on social media. "Ukrainian troops are advancing in eastern Ukraine, liberating more cities and villages. But images flooding social media appeared to show Ukrainian forces within the city and Russian observers of the conflict said there were initial reports Moscow's army had already withdrawn. 'Astonishing' advance - There was no official confirmation that Kyiv's troops had also routed Russian forces from Iyzum - an important staging ground for Russia's war effort - with a pre-war population of around 45,000 people. But observers expect Ukrainian forces to make further gains in the Kharkiv region, which borders Russia and has been either controlled by Russia or shelled by its artillery for months. The town of some 27,000 people - which was captured with in the first week of Russia's invasion launched on February 24 - "was and will always be Ukrainian," the special forces said. News of the draw down came just after Ukrainian special forces published images on social media showing camouflage-clad officers with automatic weapons "in Kupiansk". "A decision was made to regroup Russian troops stationed in the Balakliya and Izyum regions to bolster efforts along the Donetsk front," Russia's defence ministry said in a statement. Moscow's announcement of the pull back alongside Kyiv's claim to have entered the town of Kupiansk are the most significant shifts in battlefield dynamics after months of fighting in eastern Ukraine that has been dominated by Moscow. A Ukrainian official also said Kyiv's troops were closing in on the eastern city of Lysychansk, captured by Russian troops after fierce artillery battles in July.
A Moscow-backed separatist leader in the east meanwhile said Russian forces were fighting "difficult" battles against Kyiv's troops in several parts of eastern Donetsk region. Russia announced Saturday it was pulling back troops from the eastern Kharkiv region of Ukraine as Kyiv announced its troops had seized a key logistics hub in a lightning counter-offensive.
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