Ukrainian forces were crossing an expanding swath of previously Russian-held territory in the east on Friday after crossing the front line in a surprise breakthrough that could mark a major turning point in the war. After remaining silent for a day, Moscow effectively acknowledged that a section of its front line had collapsed southeast of Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv. “The very fact of breaching our defenses is already a substantial victory for the Ukrainian armed forces,” the head of the Moscow-based command for the occupied territories in Kharkiv province, Vitaly Gadchev, told Russian state television. Gadchev later said his government was trying to evacuate civilians from towns including Izium, Russia’s main stronghold and logistics base in the province near the front in the east. The Russian Defense Ministry released video of military vehicles speeding along a highway, saying they showed reinforcements rushing to defend the area. The Kremlin declined to comment on the Ukrainian advance. Ukrainian officials released a parade of videos showing soldiers raising flags and posing in front of signs in villages and towns in an area of territory previously held by Russia. A viral image showed soldiers holding a Ukrainian flag at a welcome sign on the highway to Kupiansk, which was previously more than 50km inside Russia’s front line. The city is a vital strategic objective as the hub for many of the main railway lines supplying Russian troops at the front. Ukraine kept independent journalists away from the area and Reuters could not confirm the images, but President Volodymyr Zelensky said troops had “liberated dozens of settlements” and had retaken more than 1,000 square kilometers (385 square miles) in eastern Kharkiv and the south of Kherson. Western military analysts say the advance could cut off supply lines Moscow has relied on to maintain its hold on eastern Ukraine and potentially leave thousands of Russian troops surrounded. Such rapid advances have been largely unheard of since Russia abandoned its offensive on Kyiv in March, shifting the war mostly to a relentless grind along entrenched front lines. “We’re seeing success in Kherson now, we’re seeing some success in Kharkiv and so that’s very, very encouraging,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told a news conference with his Czech counterpart in Prague. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who pledged additional military aid to Ukraine on Thursday during a visit to Kyiv, said on Friday: “Basically, they (Ukrainians) are fighting for their homeland. They are fighting for their future. Russian forces in Ukraine are not. And I am convinced that this is the most decisive factor. And we’re seeing some manifestations of that.” Ukraine’s general staff said early Friday that retreating Russian forces were trying to evacuate wounded personnel and damaged military equipment near Kharkiv. “Thanks to skillful and coordinated actions, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with the support of the local population, advanced almost 50 kilometers in three days.” Tens of thousands of people have been killed, millions driven from their homes and Russian forces have destroyed entire cities since Moscow launched what it calls a “special military operation” in February to “disarm” Ukraine. Russia denies that it deliberately targeted civilians. In the latest reported strike on civilians, Ukrainian officials said Russia fired across the border, hitting a hospital in the northeastern Sumy region on Friday morning, destroying the building and injuring people. Reuters could not independently confirm the report. The center of Kharkiv, which is regularly bombarded by Russia, was hit by Russian rockets, injuring ten people, including three children, Governor Oleh Synehubov said. Rockets hit a children’s arts center and a school, as well as private homes, Mayor Ihor Terekhov wrote on Telegram. Ukraine’s surprise in the east came a week after Kyiv announced the launch of a long-awaited counteroffensive hundreds of kilometers away at the other end of the front line, in Kherson province in the south. Ukrainian officials say Russia has moved thousands of troops south to respond to the Kherson advance, leaving other parts of the front line exposed and creating the opportunity for the blitzkrieg. “We found a weak point where the enemy was not ready,” presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said in a video posted on YouTube. Less information has so far emerged about the campaign in the south, with Ukraine keeping journalists away and releasing few details. Ukraine is using new Western-supplied artillery and rockets to hit Russian rear positions there, aiming to trap thousands of Russian troops on the west bank of the great Dnipro river and cut off their supplies. Arestovich recognized that progress in the south was not yet as rapid as the sudden breakthrough in the east. Russian state news agency RIA cited Russian-appointed Kherson authorities as saying that some Ukrainian troops were captured during the counterattack and some Polish tanks they were using were destroyed. Reuters was unable to verify these reports. Our Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.
