Kiev The authorities shouted the slogan of "Kerson Counterattack" for several months, and the world's attention was mainly focused on Wunan. For several months, the front of Wunan has not changed much, and Western media have also criticized Wunan's counterattack. But unexpectedly, the Ukrainian army made a significant breakthrough in the direction of Kharkiv .
On September 8th local time, the Ukrainian army announced the recapture of Kharkiv city city Baraklia. According to Russia today on September 10, the Russian army and the Luton coalition forces were ordered to leave Ijum city on Saturday. It is reported that Ijium City is a strategic location on the banks of the North Donets River in eastern Ukraine, located about 120 kilometers southeast of Kharkov, the capital of the state. The Russian army lost in Ijiuzhi City, which is now a "defeat defeat".
In addition, Daniel Bezonov, deputy minister of the Ministry of Information of the "Donetsk Republic", also pointed out that the Russian army and the Luton coalition forces have also left some other settlements in the direction of Kharkov.
For the results of the Ukrainian counterattack, Zelensky was quite proud of. Zelensky pointed out that since September, the Ukrainian army has seized dozens of settlements and has regained 1,000 square kilometers of territory. Ukraine's victory will not only boost the morale of the Ukrainian army, but also inspire the West's enthusiasm for aid to Ukraine.
According to the Russian Satellite News Agency on the 10th, the German Foreign Minister said in Kiev on the 10th that his visit to Kiev was to convey a support signal to Ukrainians . After Russia's gas halted, although EU said that it would be safe to spend the winter without Russia's natural gas , the EU is indeed not having a good time. The EU has to think about whether it can waste Russia even if it survives the winter? The obvious advancement of the Ukrainian army on the battlefield at least allowed the EU to see the hope of successful "consumption strategy".
At the same time, Ukraine is also taking the opportunity to seek other assistance from the West. Zelensky once pointed out that Ukraine will face the most difficult winter in history this year. If Ukraine wants to solve the heating problem, it can only seek help from the West. Bloomberg reported that the Kiev authorities are negotiating with the United States to try to obtain a $1.5 billion natural gas loan from US Export-Import Bank . For the Kiev authorities, once the Ukrainian army makes considerable progress, it is necessary to serve as a bargaining chip for negotiations with the West in a timely manner.
So, how should Russia deal with the Ukrainian counterattack?
Russia has realized that the main reason for the failure in Kharkov this time is still the shortage of troops, and of course, there are also reasons for lack of defense. For this reason, the Russian side decided to provide reinforcements. According to AFP on the 29th, Russia is redeploying troops in the direction of Kharkov. Some videos released by the Russian Ministry of Defense show that some military vehicles are indeed moving on the road.
However, Russia's lack of troops is not just a problem in one direction. It can be said that Russia has insufficient investment in the entire Ukrainian battlefield. Of course, when Russia spends its main energy to deal with the counterattack of Wunan, other directions are prone to loopholes. It is precisely because of insufficient military investment that after the Russian army took Luhansk , they basically took down cities of a certain scale, almost turning off offense to defense, which makes people doubt the Russian army's breakthrough ability.
This is understandable. Russia's previous military reform led to a significant reduction in Russian armed forces. When facing such a vast battlefield as Ukraine, Russia's troops can actually not invest enough. Not to mention, Russia characterized the war as a "special military operation", which made Russia inconvenient to mobilization. In contrast, Ukraine has carried out several rounds of mobilization, and even claimed to mobilize "million-million troops".
In addition, due to insufficient dispatch of the Russian Aerospace Forces, it did not launch enough strikes on the supply line in the hinterland of Ukraine, and Western aid continued to flow into the Ukrainian army. The Russian army's almost-in-place sticking strategy also gave recruits time to train and adapt to Western weapons. The Ukrainian mobilization effect seemed to be better than expected.
For Russia, if the territory is lost repeatedly, not only will its morale be frustrated, but the people in the Russian-controlled areas are afraid that people will be in turmoil. After all, Russia has begun issuing visas in the Russian-controlled area, and local people have to think about whether Russia can control the region for a long time and whether its bias towards Russia will be at risk.
Perhaps it's time for Russia to adjust its strategy. Of course, it has to be mentioned that Russia also counterattacked the Ukrainian army.
Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Saturday that in Kharkiv Prefecture and the "Donetsk People's Republic", the Russian Aerospace Forces used high-precision weapons to annihilate more than 300 Ukrainian troops. Judging from the propaganda of the Russian army, the Russian side has achieved great results. This also triggers thought, will the deepening of the Ukrainian army in turn also have the opportunity for the Russian army to counterattack, so that the Russian army can annihilate the Ukrainian army's vitality as much as possible?
guess is guessing, but it depends on the next move of the Russian army.
