Ukraine: kyiv is still regaining ground, vast power cut in the east

A car passes near a destroyed tank, in the Kharkiv region, on September 10, 2022. AFP - JUAN BARRETO

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On Saturday, towns and villages fell one after the other, and the Kremlin ordered, to mask a real military rout, the withdrawal of its troops in the People's Republic of Donetsk.

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In Ukraine, events rush after the Ukrainian army's counter-attack on Izium, in the Kharkiv region.

in recent hours, and it seems that the Russian army is losing its footing in the Kharkiv region, of which Kiev seems to be regaining control, observes our correspondent in the Ukrainian capital,

.

The numbers give the spin.

Saturday evening, Volodymyr Zelensky estimated that Ukraine had regained 2,000 km2 of territory; 

and in the end it was more than 8,000 km2 that returned to Kiev's control, which is much more than what Russia has been able to take from Ukraine since April, so even that Vladimir Putin had ordered his troops to seize the whole of Donbass before the deadline of September 15.

From now on, the Kremlin has ordered the withdrawal of its troops to the people's republic of Donetsk and fighting seems to be breaking out in the vicinity of Lyman, Svatove or Severodonetsk.

The great strategic development of the past 24 hours has been the complete collapse of the Russian system in the Kharkiv region, where the Kremlin army controlled a strip along the border, and bombarded the metropolis of 1.5 million of inhabitants.

On Sunday, the yellow and blue flag was hoisted at Hoptivka, a border crossing with Russia, this does not mean that the conflict is over, but its dynamics are completely changed.

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Extensive power cuts in eastern Ukraine

Large portions of territory in eastern Ukraine were affected Sunday evening by power cuts, Ukrainian officials said.

Ukrainian officials in Kharkiv, the country's second city, and in the Donetsk and Sumy regions, posted statements on social media reporting power cuts.

Journalists from Agence France-Presse have also noted cuts in the city of Kramatorsk.

In the Kharkiv region, the governor also reported water cuts and denounced Russian attacks against infrastructure.

The Russians “

,” Olegh Synehoubov said on Telegram.

“

,” he added.

Russia does not deny its retreat

No official declarations, no explanations on what looks like a debacle on the part of the Russian army in the Kharkiv region.

But a map, released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Sunday, clearly shows the territories its army has been pressured to abandon in recent days.

This is the second time that Russia has admitted a setback.

Already on Saturday, the Ministry of Defense announced that it had regrouped its men in the Donetsk region, the capital of Donbass that Russia cannot afford to lose.

The tone used implied that this retirement had been calculated.

However, the situation seems difficult for Russia, which has just lost a significant number of localities.

At the same time, Moscow is trying to focus the international community on the risk posed by bombardments near the Zaporijjia power plant, bombardments which it attributes to Ukraine.

A way also to sweep away a difficult situation, not far away, in the Kherson region.

According to a Russian source relayed by several Russian-speaking media, the organization of a referendum to attach the occupied regions of southern Ukraine to Russia would no longer be relevant.

In Moscow,

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