Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to answer directly when asked by a reporter whether President Vladimir Putin had confidence in his military leadership, saying the “special operation” would continue until it achieved its goals. “The military operation continues,” Peskov said. “And it will continue until the goals that were originally set are achieved.” Peskov went on to say that Putin is in constant contact with military commanders in Ukraine and is regularly updated on military developments. Asked whether Putin would order a general mobilization in response to Ukraine’s counterattack, Peskov referred the question to the Defense Ministry. It was the first reaction from the Kremlin to the lightning-fast Ukrainian counterattack last week.
Happy tears in the Kharkiv area
Ukraine’s general staff said early Monday that its troops had recaptured more than 20 towns and villages in the past day alone, after Russia acknowledged it had abandoned Izium, its main stronghold in northeastern Ukraine. Jubilant residents returned to former front-line villages and Moscow grappled with the fallout from the collapse of its occupying power in northeastern Ukraine. “People cry, people are happy, of course. How can they not be happy?” said retired English teacher Zoya, 76, north of Kharkiv in the village of Zolochiv, 18 kilometers from the Russian border. He wept as he described the months he had spent sheltering in the cellar. WATCHES | Ukraine reclaims territory from Russian forces:
Ukraine recovers parts of territory from Russian forces
Ukraine’s military has retaken 3,000 square kilometers of territory from Russian occupation within days after a swift counteroffensive in the country’s northeast. It marks a major shift in the war after months of attrition. Ukraine denounced what it described as retaliation against civilian targets for its military advances. By Monday morning, Reuters reporters in Kharkiv said the power had been restored, although the water was still not working. The governor said that 80 percent of the electricity has been restored. But Ukraine’s faster advance since it drove Russian forces out of the capital in March could turn the tide in the six-month war, revealing within days much of the gains Moscow had made in months of costly fighting in east. Further north, Ukrainian troops had moved into Udi, a small village in what was nowhere near the border. Returning soldiers said it was still unsafe, littered with mines, grenades and weapons left behind by fleeing Russian troops, with abandoned farm animals roaming around. In what was left of Russian territory in the Kharkiv region, Vitaly Ganchev, the Russian-installed head of Moscow’s occupation administration, acknowledged that Ukrainian troops had crossed the border. Ukrainian soldiers rest on Monday in Zolochiv in the Kharkiv region after returning from the village of Udy, which was recently liberated by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. (Gleb Garanich/Reuters) Gadchev, who ordered the complete evacuation of civilians from Russian-controlled areas of the province, told Russian state television Rossiya-24 that about 5,000 civilians had fled to Russia, but the border was now closed. “The situation is getting more and more difficult by the hour,” he said. Ukrainian forces have retaken about 500 square kilometers of territory in the country’s south over the past two weeks as part of a counteroffensive against Russian troops, a spokesman for Ukraine’s southern military command said on Monday. Reuters could not independently verify the comments.
No scheduled talks: Kremlin
So far, Putin has not resorted to mobilizing Russia’s reserves, which number about two million people with military service over the past five years. Peskov in his comments said that Russia sees no prospect of peace talks with Ukraine. He said there were no discussions on the possible demilitarization of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant — one of the key recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since its visit to the plant. Front Burner24:58 Inside Ukraine — a country living with war The view of the war from inside Ukraine varies depending on where you are. For two weeks, CBC News senior correspondent Susan Ormiston has been criss-crossing the country where war has become a normal part of life for some. In the capital of Kiev, businesses are reopening, communities are rebuilding and some who fled at the start of the war have returned. Meanwhile, in Kherson and Kharkiv, heavy fighting continues as Ukraine’s counter-offensive reportedly escalates. The Ukrainians say they are making good progress, but Russia denies this, saying Ukraine is suffering heavy casualties. A constant media blackout makes it difficult to get a clear picture. Today on Front Burner, Susan Ormiston shows us the complex reality in Ukraine as the war continues. Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Russia had likely ordered its forces to withdraw from the entire Kharkiv region west of the Oskil River, abandoning the main supply route that had supported Russia’s operations in the east. The British ministry said Moscow’s forces are also struggling to bring reserves to the front line in the south, where Ukraine has launched a major advance into Kherson province aimed at isolating thousands of Russian troops on the west bank of the Dnipro river. “The majority of [Russian] The force in Ukraine is very likely to be forced to prioritize urgent defensive actions,” the British briefing said. “Ukraine’s rapid successes have significant implications for Russia’s overall operational planning.” Further Russian retreats, especially east of Oskil, could soon put Ukrainian forces in a position to attack territory that Russia and its local proxies have held since 2014. Denis Pushilin, leader of the pro-Russian separatist proxy administration in Donetsk province, acknowledged the pressure from many directions. “At least, we stopped the enemy at Liman,” he said in a Telegram post overnight, referring to a front-line town east of Izium. “We’ll have to see how it goes. But our boys have had some definite hits.”
