these people really set up all of us,” Boris Nadezhdin, a former parliament member, said on a talk show on NTV television. “People who convinced President Putin that the operation will be fast and effective. Ramzan Kadyrov, the Moscow-backed leader of the Russian region of Chechnya, publicly criticized the Russian Defense Ministry for what he called “mistakes” that made the Ukrainian blitz possible.Įven more notable, such criticism seeped onto state-controlled Russian TV. Russia has continuously stopped short of calling its invasion a war, instead describing it as a “special military operation” and relying on on a limited contingent of volunteers instead of a mass mobilization that could spur civil discontent and protest. Meanwhile, in Russia, there were some signs of disarray as Russian military bloggers and patriotic commentators chastised the Kremlin for failing to mobilize more forces and take stronger action against Ukraine. In the end, he exclaimed: "We will be with gas, lights, water and food … and WITHOUT you!” “Cold, hunger, darkness and thirst for us are not as scary and deadly as your ‘friendship’ and brotherhood.’" “Do you still think you can intimidate, break us, force us to make concessions?" Zelenskyy asked. The buoyant mood was also captured by a defiant President Volodymyr Zelenskyy late Sunday on social media. “Thanks to everyone who did everything possible on this most difficult night for Kharkiv to normalize the life of the city as soon as possible.” “You are heroes!!!” Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov wrote on Telegram, referring to crews who restored utilities in Ukraine's second-biggest city. In Kharkiv, authorities hailed that power and water had been restored to about 80% of the region's population following Russian attacks on infrastructure that knocked out electricity in many places across Ukraine. The mood was jubilant across the country. Momentum has switched back and forth before, but rarely with such a big and sudden swing.
It was not yet clear if the Ukrainian blitz could signal a turning point in the war, although some analysts cautioned that fighting would likely go on for months. Other videos showed Ukrainians inspecting the wreckage of Russian military vehicles, including tanks.Įfforts to disarm land mines were underway in the recaptured areas, along with a search for remaining Russian troops, Ukrainian military officials said. In one scene, a fighter wiped his boots on a Russian flag on the ground. Video taken by the Ukrainian military showed soldiers raising the Ukrainian flag over battle-damaged buildings. Owners of Viral ‘Stranger Things' Home Reveal Future of Display Over the weekend, the Russian Defense Ministry said troops would be pulled from two areas in that region to regroup in the eastern region of Donetsk. “In some areas of the front, our defenders reached the state border with the Russian Federation,” said Oleh Syniehubov, governor of the northeastern Kharkiv region. While Ukrainian cities began emerging from Russian occupation, a local leader alleged that the Kremlin's troops had committed atrocities against civilians there similar to those in other places seized by Moscow. In recent days, Kyiv’s forces have captured territory at least twice the size of greater London, according to the British Defense Ministry.Īfter months of little discernible movement on the battlefield, the momentum has lifted Ukrainian morale and provoked rare public criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war. Ukrainian troops reclaimed a wide swath of territory from Russia on Monday, pushing all the way back to the northeastern border in some places as part of a lightning advance that forced Moscow to make a hasty retreat from occupied land.Īs blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flags fluttered over newly liberated towns, the Ukrainian military said its troops had freed more than 20 settlements in 24 hours.
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