Russia pulls back from Kharkiv – Report from the Front Line
Ukraine says its forces have pushed villages of Russian troops north and northeast of Kharkiv back to the border. The ongoing offensive could signal a change in the pace of the war and jeopardize Russia’s main advances further south. BBC correspondent Quentin Somerville and cameraman Darren Conway advance with the Ukrainian army.
The town of Ruska Lozova is at the center of the turning point in Ukraine’s response to the Russian invasion.
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He was recently released in a coordinated effort led by senior military commanders. Ukrainian Territorial Defense, National Guard and Regular Army troops are trying to push the Russians back along a 20-mile (32 km) front line. Troops have gathered in the Russian city of Belgorod, across the border, for a possible counterattack.
We drove north from the city of Kharkiv with the Ukrainian forces. Russian shells continued to rain down on the town.
With no electricity or water, little food, and no phones or internet, its residents were cut off from Ukraine’s second-largest city, just 8 km (5 miles) to the south. From the nearby forest and hills, Russian mortars and artillery continued to open fire on Kharkiv.
At a military aid station, we met Raisa Openashivna, who has lived in Ruska Lozova for 30 years. The 66-year-old man approached the Ukrainian soldiers, weighed in on the story and two large plastic bags.
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Beneath a gray knit cap, his plump face weather-beaten, his slender figure arching. He hadn’t seen so many people in months. Since the beginning of the war, his village had been under Russian occupation.
The Russians went from house to house. “They were checking the houses, asking if we had any rifles. But I don’t have anything. I’m alone,” Raisa said.
Ruska Lozova is broken, but more than that, Raisa’s entire world was nourished by the Russian invasion. To the east, the war is bringing not only a re-examination of people’s relations with Russia – just 30 km to the north – but a more personal re-evaluation of being a Russian-speaking Ukrainian.
A month ago, the Russians were literally at the gates of Kharkiv. The shelling continued, and the buildings on the street we lived on were being attacked. It got so bad that it was easier to count the hours of silence than the hours of the explosion. She felt as if she were on the brink of the abyss, where another solid Russian attack could sabotage the city.
In the North Saltivka neighborhood, entire apartment blocks were destroyed. Those left behind had no electricity or water, and were forced to cook over small fires built into their stairs.
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But the specter of Russian victory that haunts this city is gone. Last week I sat in a city center park, her lawn was neatly mowed, her flower beds were in bloom, and I enjoyed ice cream from a cafe. The city is still largely empty, but the number of Russian artillery strikes has dropped from dozens a day to just a few. Air raid sirens still sound regularly, but Kharkiv is no longer teetering on the brink of devastation.
Ukraine’s gains, modest for now, could have strategic implications for Russia’s war in the Donbass in the southeast, threatening the invaders’ supply lines.
As we marched north from Kharkiv with the Ukrainian army towards the villages and towns that mark the new border line, the road was littered with potholes and spent Russian rockets. Russian vehicles and trucks were destroyed on the sides of the road, which were used to stop their initial attack on Kharkiv.
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We drove at high speed: behind the wheel, the commander of a volunteer unit had put his rifle in the footwell. “The roadsides are mined,” he said, as the car lurched through a handful of barricades and tank traps.
Our only car was on the road, and we knew that on the wooded hill in front of us, Russian tanks and artillery were still moving.
The war in the Kharkiv region has changed: it is now a game of eagle and mouse, with drones on each side constantly trying to target enemy tanks and guns for artillery fire.
We passed a Russian Grad rocket launcher dumped in a ditch, and a wrecked military green Lada with Russian “Z” insignia painted white on the doors.
“Russia’s secret weapon,” the commander said, laughing among the men at him.
Near Ruska Lozova, the burn marks on the road were the remains of a civilian vehicle destroyed by Russian shells. The remains were gone, but their contents were strewn across the street: a pink blanket here, some
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Russia pulls back from Kharkiv – Report from the Front Line
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by News East India staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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