‘The Russian army turned tail.’ Zelensky announces the liberation of nearly 800 square miles of Ukrainian territory.

Since the beginning of September the Ukrainian army has liberated around 700 square miles (2,000 square km) of their own territory. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky spoke about it in his evening address on September 10.

On September 8 Zelensky said that since the beginning of the month Ukraine had liberated more than 380 square miles (1,000 square km). On September 9 he announced that the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) had regained control of more than 30 settlements in the Kharkiv region. 

By Meduza’s calculations on September 10 the UAF had liberated an area of around 1,600 square miles (4,200 square km) since the beginning of the month (if Izyum and the settlements around it, which Russian troops reportedly left, can be considered liberated).

This week the UAF began a counteroffensive on the occupied territory of the Kharkiv region. On September 8 Russian troops left the city of Balakliya under threat of encirclement, and on September 10 they left the western part of the city of Kupyansk and the city of Izyum.

On September 10 the Russian defense ministry made its first comment on the retreat from the Kharkiv region. The department called it “an operation to curtail and organize the transfer of troops” to “concentrate force in the direction of Donetsk.”