Since the beginning of September, Ukraine’s military has been recapturing territory in its south and east.
Ukraine’s eastern counteroffensive has claimed to push Russian soldiers almost completely out of Kharkiv Oblast while making gains in the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts. On October 1st, Ukrainian soldiers recaptured the city of Lyman, an important logistics and transport hub for Russia.
These gains occurred due to Russia shifting its military attention to fighting in the south leading to gaps in its eastern army.
The south has seen smaller gains for Ukraine but threaten the strategic Russian-occupied city of Kherson on the Black Sea.
The aim of these counteroffensives, according to experts, is to completely surround and destroy the Russian army and cut their supply lines.
In response, Russia called for a partial mobilization of its population on September 21st and pushed rigged referendums to “annex” the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts on September 30th. President Putin has threatened to defend “Russian” territory by all means necessary including the use of nuclear bombs.
Russia though faces difficulties in not only training its conscripts but properly equipping them as thousands of tanks, artillery, transport vehicles, and rounds of ammunition have been abandoned for the use of Ukrainian forces. The oncoming winter may give Russia much needed time to regroup and rearm as any troop movement becomes much more difficult.
Ukrainian soldiers have recaptured their homes only to find them destroyed and looted and have discovered mass burial sites and torture chambers.
President Zelenskyy has vowed to not begin peace talks until all Russian forces are pushed out of Ukraine, including Crimea.
