Ukraine has won the battle of Kharkiv, analysts say, as Kyiv warns of 'long phase of war'

Also: Ukraine says Russia withdraws from Kharkiv, batters east (Associated Press)

______________________________________________________________________

Source: The Guardian

Ukraine has won the battle of Kharkiv, analysts say, as Kyiv warns of ‘long phase of war’

US-based thinktank claims Russian troops are being pushed back eastwards from Ukraine’s second city, and aiming to use mercenaries

Dan Sabbagh and Martin Farrer
Sat 14 May 2022 06.52 BST
Last modified on Sat 14 May 2022 06.55 BST

Ukrainian forces “appear to have won the battle of Kharkiv”, according to a US defence thinktank, in what appears to be their fastest advance since Russian troops pulled away from Kyiv and the north-east over a month ago.

In another apparent setback to Vladimir Putin’s war aims, analysts said on Saturday that Russian units had not attempted to hold their lines against counterattacking Ukrainian troops around the city.

Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city and only 31 miles (50km) from the Russian border, has been under enemy bombardment since the war began in February.

But the US-based Institute for the Study of War said in its latest assessment of the conflict that the Russians appeared to be dropping back and aimed to replace their own troops with proxy forces or mercenaries.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/14/ukraine-has-won-the-battle-of-kharkiv-analysts-say-as-kyiv-warns-of-long-phase-of-war

______________________________________________________________________

Source: Associated Press

Ukraine says Russia withdraws from Kharkiv, batters east

By OLEKSANDR STASHEVSKYI and DAVID KEYTON
May 14, 2022

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian troops are withdrawing from Ukraine’s second-largest city after weeks of heavy bombardment, the Ukrainian military said Saturday as Kyiv and Moscow’s forces engaged in a grinding battle for the country’s east.

Ukraine’s general staff said the Russians were pulling back from the northeastern city of Kharkiv and focusing on guarding supply routes, while launching mortar, artillery and airstrikes in the eastern Donetsk region in order to “deplete Ukrainian forces and destroy fortifications.”

Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Ukraine was “entering a new - long-term - phase of the war.”

As the country’s top prosecutor put a Russian soldier on trial for war crimes, the first of dozens that could face charges, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainians were doing their “maximum” to drive out the invaders and that the outcome of the war would depend on support from Europe and other allies.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-war-crimes-4cc0ea6b166aa0fd9fb1306f280739fc