Ukraine retakes swathes of
territory from Russian forces
as war enters 200th day
Firefighters battle a blaze after a Russian rocket attack hit an electric power station in
Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region on Sunday. (Kostiantyn Liberov/The Associated
Press)
Ukrainian troops on Sunday successfully pressed their swift
counter-offensive in the northeastern part of the country,
even as a nuclear power plant in the Russia-occupied south
completely shut down in a bid to prevent a radiation disaster
as fighting raged nearby.
Kyiv's action to reclaim Russia-occupied areas in the Kharkiv
region forced Moscow to withdraw its troops to prevent
them from being surrounded, leaving behind significant
numbers of weapons and munitions in a hasty retreat as the
war marked its 200th day on Sunday.
A jubilant Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mocked
the Russians in a video address Saturday night, saying "the
Russian army in these days is demonstrating the best that it
can do — showing its back."
He posted a video of Ukrainian soldiers hoisting the national
flag over Chkalovske, another town reclaimed in the counteroffensive.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's military chief, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyy,
said its forces had recaptured about 3,000 square kilometres
since the counter-offensive began in early September. He
said Ukrainian troops are only 50 kilometres from the border
with Russia.
Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said Ukrainian troops have
reclaimed control of more than 40 settlements in the region,
noting he couldn't give a precise number because the
operation is still unfolding.
Defence Minister Anna Malyar said Ukrainian forces are firing
shells containing propaganda into areas where they seek to
advance.
"One of the ways of informational work with the enemy in
areas where there is no Internet is launching propaganda
shells," she wrote on Facebook. "Before moving forward, our
defenders say hello to the Russian invaders and give them
the last opportunity to surrender. Otherwise, only death
awaits them on Ukrainian soil."
The Ukrainian General Staff said Russian forces had also left
several settlements in the Kherson region as Ukrainian
forces pressed the counter-offensive. It did not identify the
towns.
An official with the Russian-backed administration in the city
of Kherson, Kirill Stremousov, said on social media that the
city was safe and asked everyone to stay calm.
Ukrainian troops walk past a former position of the Russian soldiers, captured during a
counter-offensive operation, Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region on Sunday. (Press
service of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine/Reuters)
The Russian pullback marked the biggest battlefield success
for Ukrainian forces since they thwarted a Russian attempt
to seize the capital, Kyiv, near the start of the war. The
Kharkiv campaign came as a surprise for Moscow, which had
relocated many of its troops from the region to the south in
expectation of a counter-offensive there.
In an awkward attempt to save face, the Russian Defence
Ministry said Saturday the troops' withdrawal from Izyum
and other areas was intended to strengthen Moscow's
forces in the neighbouring Donetsk region to the south. The
explanation sounded similar how Russia justified its pulling
back from Kyiv earlier this year.
Igor Strelkov, who led Russia-backed forces when the
separatist conflict in the Donbas erupted in 2014, mocked
the Russian Defence Ministry's explanation of the retreat,
suggesting that handing over Russia's own territory near the
border was a "contribution to a Ukrainian settlement."
A residential building destroyed by a strike is seen in Ukraine's central Mykolaiv region on
Sunday. (Umit Bektas/Reuters)
Despite Ukraine's gains, U.S. Secretary of State Antony
Blinken and the head of NATO warned Friday the war would
likely drag on for months, urging the West to keep
supporting Ukraine through what could be a difficult winter.
Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat and member of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called Ukrainian
advances very encouraging.
"I'm proud that the U.S. and our allies have locked arms to
support the Ukrainian people in this fight," Kaine said in a
statement to The Associated Press. "We and our allies must
keep standing with Ukraine. Putin needs to recognize that
the only way out is to end his failed war."
Nuclear plant still in peril
While most attention was focused on the counter-offensive,
Ukraine's nuclear energy operator said the Zaporizhzhia
nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, was reconnected to
Ukraine's electricity grid, allowing engineers to shut down its
last operational reactor to safeguard the plant amid the
fighting.
The plant, one of the 10 biggest atomic power stations in the
world, has been occupied by Russian forces since the early
days of the war. Ukraine and Russia have traded blame for
shelling around it.
Since a Sept. 5 fire caused by shelling knocked the plant off
transmission lines, the reactor was powering crucial safety
equipment in so-called "island mode" — an unreliable regime
that left the plant increasingly vulnerable to a potential
nuclear accident.
WATCH | UN presses for safety zone at nuclear power
plant:
UN presses for safety zone around Ukraine's
Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency has urged
Russia and Ukraine to establish a 'nuclear safety and
security protection zone' around the Zaporizhzhia power
plant.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear
watchdog that has two experts at the plant, welcomed the
restoration of external power. But the agency's directorgeneral, Rafael Grossi, said he remains "gravely concerned
about the situation at the plant, which remains in danger as
long as any shelling continues."
He said talks have begun on establishing a safety and
security zone around the plant.
In a call Sunday with Russian President Vladimir Putin,
French President Emmanuel Macron urged the withdrawal of
Russian troops and weaponry from the plant in line with IAEA
recommendations.