As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 200th day, we take a look at the main developments.
Moscow abandoned its main bastion in northeastern Ukraine, an apparent collapse of one of the war’s principal front lines, after Ukrainian forces moved to encircle the area in a shock advance.
Fighting
- Ukraine’s counteroffensive has liberated about 2,000sq km (700sq miles) of territory, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
- Ukrainian forces continued to make significant gains in the Kharkiv region over the last 24 hours, the UK’s defence ministry said.
- The Russian-installed chief administrator of Russian-controlled parts of Kharkiv recommended all its inhabitants evacuate to Russia “to save lives”.
- Ukrainian forces established full control over the city of Balakliia, said deputy defence minister Hanna Malyar.
- Russia’s defence ministry ordered troops to leave the area around the city of Izyum in Kharkiv province, saying they would be sent to reinforce operations elsewhere in neighbouring Donetsk.
- Ukrainian troops captured the city of Kupyansk, the sole railway hub supplying Russia’s front line across northeastern Ukraine, cutting thousands of Russian troops off from supplies.
- Ukrainian police patrolling abandoned towns are finding boxes of ammunition in heaps left behind by Russian soldiers.
- Russia’s defence ministry said its air force destroyed a Ukrainian radar tracking station in the southern Mykolaiv region and six weapon and missile depots in the eastern and southeastern areas.
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“To achieve the stated goals of the special military operation for the liberation of Donbas, it was decided to regroup the Russian troops located in the districts of Balakliia and Izyum for the purpose of increasing efforts in the Donetsk direction,” Russia’s defence ministry said.
Energy
- Ukraine’s atomic power operator said the last reactor at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has been shut down after it was reconnected to the electricity grid.
- Ukraine will look into whether it can urgently supply neighbouring Poland with 100,000 tonnes of thermal coal to help it through the winter, Zelenskyy said.
- Zelenskyy said he told French President Emmanuel Macron about the situation at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, calling for it to be “demilitarised”.
- Russia’s Gazprom said it will ship 42.4 million cubic metres of natural gas to Europe via Ukraine.
Grain
- Britain dismissed as untrue Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assertion that only a fraction of grain exported from Ukraine under an international deal was going to poor countries.
- Quoting UN figures, the British defence ministry said about 30 percent of grain exported under the deal has been supplied to low and middle-income countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
- Putin said last week that out of 87 ships, only two, carrying 60,000 tonnes of products, had gone to poor countries.
Weapons
- Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba called for more weapons. “We have demonstrated we are capable of defeating the Russian army. We are doing that with weapons given to us. And so I reiterate: the more weapons we receive, the faster we will win, and the faster this war will end.”
