UKRAINE: THE SITUATION 201 - SEPTEMBER 8, 2022

The Ukrainian successes on the Kharkiv city-Izyum line are causing cracks in the Russian information space and undermining confidence in the Russian leadership to a degree not seen since a failed Russian river crossing in mid-May.

Ukrainian military officials have announced that Ukrainian forces penetrated 50 km deep into Russian defensive positions north of Izyum on September 8, but the Russian Ministry of Defense did not issue a statement on the Ukrainian advances in the Kharkiv Oblast. The Ukrainian successes and the silence of the Russian Ministry of Defense prompted many Russian milbloggers to criticize and discuss the failure of the Russian armed forces to maintain control of the city of Balakliya, about 44 km northwest of Izyum. Some milbloggers claimed that the Russian forces either wholly or partially withdrew from Balakliya properly, while others lamented that the Ukrainian forces had driven the Russian forces out of the settlement. Others noted that the Rosgvardia units operating in the area had not coordinated their defense and did not have sufficient artillery capabilities to prevent Ukrainian counterattacks in the region.

Milbloggers had warned days before the Ukrainian advance of an imminent Ukrainian counteroffensive northwest of Izyum, and some milbloggers noted that the Russian leadership had failed to prepare for "obvious and foreseeable" Ukrainian counteroffensives. Others noted that the Ukrainian forces had "completely outplayed" the Russian military command in Balakliya, while others urged readers to wait for discussions on Russian losses and to refrain from criticism until the Russian armed forces had stabilized the front lines.

The full Russian Offensive Update 201 is available directly from UNDERSTANDING WAR.

UNDERSTANDING WAR online