As the conflict in Ukraine approaches the end of its sixth month, Russia’s so-called “special military operation” shows little sign of slowing down, despite an ongoing Ukrainian counter-offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
While the two sides stabilized the front lines for the time being, intense fighting continues, mainly in the form of tit-for-tat artillery barrages.
For the past week, headlines have been dominated by a Ukrainian counter-offensive that has succeeded in retaking several positions in Kharkiv. The operation is being hailed as the most significant Ukrainian victory since Russian forces withdrew from areas near Kyiv during the initial weeks of the conflict.
On Sept. 19, Ukrainian officials announced that its troops had successfully crossed the Oskil River and were preparing to push into the eastern Donbas region, which has remained the primary focus of Russia’s invasion since it commenced on Feb. 24.
“Perhaps it seems to some of you that, after a series of victories, we now have a lull of sorts,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a televised address delivered on the evening of Sept. 18.
“But there will be no lull,” he added. “There is preparation for the next series … For Ukraine must be free. All of it.”
The Russian departure from positions in Kharkiv has been largely portrayed by western media as rushed and disorganized. But according to Moscow, Russian troops were withdrawn in orderly fashion to reinforce positions in Donbas.
Speaking to journalists on Sept. 16 after last week’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Samarkand, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the loss of territory in Kharkiv, saying, “Let’s see how [the Ukrainian counter-offensive] unfolds and how it ends.”
Kyiv, meanwhile, says there is evidence—including mass graves—that Russian forces committed atrocities in the areas of Kharkiv that they recently vacated. Moscow has so far refrained from commenting on the claims, but has previously issued denials that its forces are targeting civilians.
Southern Front
A series of earlier Ukrainian counter-offensives along the southern front, which received much less media attention, appear to have been largely unsuccessful. Focusing mainly on the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, these operations ran up against stiff resistance and reportedly led to significant Ukrainian casualties.Although relatively limited in scope, Ukrainian counter-offensives on the southern front reportedly remain ongoing. In its Sept. 18 daily briefing, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that Ukrainian forces had tried but failed to break through the front line in the Kherson region.
The ministry went on to assert that, over the previous 24 hours, Russian aircraft and artillery had destroyed Ukrainian military assets (troops and equipment) in the Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporozhye, and Donetsk regions. In the latter region, it also claimed to have struck facilities housing “foreign mercenaries.”
The Epoch Times was unable to verify the ministry’s assertions.
Escalations
In a notable escalation, Russia has begun using aircraft to target civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, including the country’s electricity grid and a large reservoir dam.“In the last seven days Russia has increased its targeting of civilian infrastructure even where it probably perceives no immediate effect,” the UK Ministry of Defense tweeted on Sept. 18.
Four days earlier, Russian aircraft struck a reservoir dam in the southern city of Kryvyi Rih, causing water levels on the Inhulets River to rise dramatically.
Russia’s targeting of civilian infrastructure has been widely condemned by Ukraine and its allies. Nevertheless, the strike on the dam and the resulting rising water levels reportedly served a military purpose by hindering Ukrainian forces from staging a tactical river crossing near Kherson.
Another recent escalation, this time by Ukraine, has been the apparent targeting of pro-Russian administrative personnel inside Russian-held territory.
On Sept. 16, Reuters reported that several pro-Russian Ukrainian officials had been killed in three different areas held by Russian forces. The casualties included a prosecutor-general in the city of Luhansk who was reportedly killed in a bomb blast.
Speaking in Samarkand, Putin referred to the killings as “terrorist attacks.” He also accused Ukraine of attempting to “carry out terrorist attacks near our nuclear facilities” inside Russian territory.
At the same press conference, Putin reiterated that the “main goal” of his “special military operation” was to “liberate” the entire Donbas region.
Ukraine and its Western allies, for their part, view Russia’s ongoing invasion as “unprovoked aggression” against a sovereign nation with the aim of forcefully seizing territory.
