On Thursday, nearly seven months into the war, Ukrainian officials claimed troops had regained control of hundreds of square miles of land in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions, which borders Russia and liberated more than 20 settlements in just over a week. By Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 30 settlements in Kharkiv had been liberated. After the announcement of an attack on the Russian-held town of Balakliya earlier this week, videos emerged on social media showing Ukrainian soldiers raising the blue and yellow flag and emotional citizens saluting them. Control of Balakliya could offer the Ukrainians a strategic opportunity to push further towards the occupied city of Izyum, which Russian forces are using as a base for their attacks across the eastern Donbas region. On Friday, Russian state television made a rare admission about Ukraine’s advances when Vitaly Gadchev, the head of the Russian administration in the occupied parts of Kharkiv, described them as occurring at a “very intense and rapid” pace. The footage also showed what appeared to be Russian tanks heading towards Kharkiv in an attempt to reinforce the area. Pro-Kremlin military analysts on Friday also shared a map of Ukraine’s advances in occupied territory, showing significant gains after Kiev forces raised their flag again in Balakliya, a key turning point in the Kharkiv region. The surprise advance on Kharkiv comes alongside a Ukrainian offensive near the southern city of Kherson, where Ukrainian forces recently launched an offensive push to retake the strategic port city. The greater Kherson region helps form Russian President Vladimir Putin’s coveted land bridge to Crimea, the peninsula invaded and annexed by Russia in 2014. The recent developments offer a boost of optimism to Ukrainians, who hope the operations will put Moscow on edge and force them out of many occupied territories before winter. Zelensky has repeatedly expressed hope for such gains, and on a visit to Kyiv on Thursday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken pledged continued support for Ukraine. However, Russia continues to control significant territory inside Ukraine and continues to demonstrate its ability to launch strikes across the country. Despite some Ukrainian successes in the region, Russian forces continued to pound Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, on Friday, blowing up one side of the Misto Hotel and Spa with rockets. The strike also hit a nearby school and residential buildings, injuring a total of 14, including three children. Wounded Ukrainian soldiers reveal stark account of Kherson attack The city, which has been repeatedly attacked since February, is now torn between a sense of normalcy and war. Rose bushes are still carefully tended in the middle of some streets near the city center, not far from where the buildings were heavily damaged. Traffic was light but flowing freely in the city on Friday. Many storefronts were loaded with sandbags, but some stores were open and electric street cars were operating along several main avenues. Several camouflaged tanks were positioned on the road to the city. The people of Kharkiv know that the aggressive push eastward could provoke more attacks. Yura Miroshnikov, for example, came to see what was left of the building where he worked for 20 years before it was closed at the start of the invasion. “Don’t come any closer,” shouted a man from an open window on a high floor, where he had already begun the desperate task of breaking down the fragments. “It’s getting bigger,” Miroshnikov said of the fighting around the city. “My apartment is on the 14th floor, I can see everywhere.” However, he is excited to hear about Ukraine’s progress in the region. “I think we have to fight all the way to Belgorod,” he said, referring to a Russian city 50 miles to the north. At a news briefing in Prague on Friday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin described the recent successes in Kherson and Kharkiv as “very, very encouraging”. Blinken visited Kyiv on Thursday in a show of support for Ukraine as the White House announced $675 million worth of additional military supplies to Kyiv. Weapons in this pack include high-velocity anti-radiation missiles, remotely detonated anti-tank mines, 105mm howitzers, and cartridges for artillery rocket systems. The United States also provides about $2 billion in security assistance to Ukraine and 18 of its neighbors. Battle for Kyiv: Ukrainian bravery, Russian blunders combine to save capital Blinken’s visit focused heavily on Ukraine’s recent counteroffensive operations, which he described as “ongoing and proving effective.” Ukraine’s counteroffensive also forced Russian officials to postpone a referendum in the Kherson region, a precursor to annexing the occupied territories with an investment of procedural legitimacy. Trades officials hoped to hold the “vote” in September. Russia’s spies misread Ukraine and mislead Kremlin as war looms But this week, the head of Russia’s ruling United Russia party said it would be “right to hold a referendum on unification” with Russia on November 4. Crimean regional head Sergei Aksionov suggested on Telegram that Russia should simply take Ukrainian territory without a vote at all, as such an annexation vote “wouldn’t be recognized by the West anyway.” “We continue to say that this is primarily a question that has to do with the will of the people living in these areas,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday. O’Grady reported from Kyiv, Ukraine and Ilyushina from Riga, Latvia. Natalie Abbakumova contributed to the report.
War in Ukraine: What you need to know
The last: Grain shipments from Ukraine are being accelerated under the agreement reached by Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations in July. Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports had sent food prices skyrocketing and raised fears of more famine in the Middle East and Africa. At least 18 ships, including cargoes of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, have departed. The battle: The conflict on the ground continues as Russia uses its heavy artillery advantage to pound Ukrainian forces, which have at times managed to put up stiff resistance. In the south, Ukraine’s hopes rest on the liberation of the Russian-held Kherson region, and eventually Crimea, which Russia seized in 2014. Fears of disaster at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remain as both sides accuse each other of bombing it. . The weapons: Western arms supplies are helping Ukraine slow Russian advances. US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Missile Systems (HIMARS) allow Ukrainian forces to strike further behind Russian lines against Russian artillery. Russia has used a range of weapons against Ukraine, some of which have drawn the attention and concern of analysts. Photos: Washington Post photographers have been on the ground since the start of the war — here are some of their strongest works. How you can help: Here are ways those in the US can help support the Ukrainian people as well as the donations people have made around the world. Read his full coverage Russia-Ukraine crisis. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for updates and exclusive video.
