Ukraine puts pressure on retreating Russian troops

Ukrainian troops piled pressure on retreating Russian forces on Tuesday, pressing a counteroffensive that has produced major gains and a stunning blow to Moscow’s military prestige.

It was not yet clear if the Ukrainian blitz in the northeast after months of little discernible movement could signal a turning point in the nearly seven-month war. But the country’s officials were buoyant, releasing footage showing their forces burning Russian flags and inspecting abandoned charred tanks. In one video, border guards tore down a poster that read, “We are one people with Russia.”

Momentum has switched back and forth before, and Ukraine’s American allies, for one, were careful not to declare a premature victory since Russian President Vladimir Putin still has troops and resources to tap.

Still, the Kremlin struggled to respond to the defeat, its largest since its forces abandoned a botched attempt to capture Kyiv early in the war.

While every individual claim of military success could not be verified, Russia acknowledged that it has withdrawn troops from areas in the northeastern region of Kharkiv in recent days.

Reports of chaos abounded as Russian troops pulled out — as well as claims that they were surrendering en masse. Ukraine officials have said they have captured so many soldiers that they are struggling to house them. The claim could not be immediately verified.

Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar said Kyiv is trying to persuade even more Russian soldiers to give up, launching shells filled with flyers ahead of their advance.

“Russians use you as cannon fodder. Your life doesn’t mean anything for them. You don’t need this war. Surrender to Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the flyers read.

In one indication of the blow sustained by Moscow, British intelligence said that one premier force, the 1st Guards Tank Army, had been “severely degraded” during the invasion and that “Russia’s conventional force designed to counter NATO is severely weakened. It will likely take years for Russia to rebuild this capability.”



A Ukrainian soldier smiles from a military vehicle on the road in the freed territory in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. Ukrainian troops retook a wide swath of territory from Russia on Monday, pushing all the way back to the northeastern border in some places, and claimed to have captured many Russian soldiers as part of a lightning advance that forced Moscow to make a hasty retreat. (AP Photo/Kostiantyn Liberov)