Russian troops flee in disarray
Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskUkrainian troops arrived on the outskirts of the town on September 8th, three days after the start of a lightning operation that overwhelmed Russia’s north-eastern flank. Denys Yaroslavskiy, a special-forces officer who took part in the first wave, said the offensive grew in “domino” fashion. Within 24 hours Ukraine’s army had encircled Balakliya, a town close to the front line.
Yet the most important consequence of the offensive is what it says about the future. It shows that Ukraine is capable of fast, complex and daring attacks; that Russia can be dislodged; and that Ukraine can therefore win. The speed of the advance hinged on a superbly executed plan and new Western weaponry that has denied Russia air supremacy. Ukraine’s army was “inventive and experimental”, says one Western official, with decision-making pushed down to low levels.
The front was thinly manned because Russia had earlier sent its best units to the southern Kherson region, where Ukraine is conducting another offensive, leaving poorly trained militia and national guard units to hold the line. The operation in Kherson is not a feint—it involves more troops than the one in Kharkiv did—but Ukraine successfully deceived Russia into believing that it was the sole object of Ukraine’s attention.
Serhiy, a company commander in Ukraine’s 25th brigade, said the tactic meant sleepy Russian troops found themselves cut off from their comrades. “At one point, we turned around to see a Russian [armoured personnel carrier] driver chugging along without a care in the world,” Serhiy said. “He surrendered at the next checkpoint when he realised what had happened.” Another soldier, who uses theof Tiger, said his unit was still finding enemy soldiers far behind the current front lines.
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