Ukraine launches surprise attack near Kharkiv in bid to push back Russians
Ukrainian forces launched a surprise offensive against Russian positions in the east of the country in an apparent expansion of their efforts to roll back the invasion.
Reports of a Ukrainian attack on Balakliya, a Russian-held town about 43 miles southeast of Kharkiv, emerged on unofficial Ukrainian and Russian Telegram on Wednesday afternoon.
The Ukrainian ministry of defence did not comment on the reports.
Anton Gerashchenko, a former Ukrainian MP, said: "They are promising good news from the Kharkiv direction, maybe Balakliya."
The Grey Zone, a popular Russian war blog, said it had spoken to open and private sources confirming the Ukrainian attack and said they may have managed to seize key bridges to allow them to reinforce near the city. The reports could not immediately be confirmed.
Another pro-Russian Telegram channel claimed there was "no panic" and that reserves were being sent to the town. It said there was no "deep breakthrough".
Balakliya lies on a bend of the Siversky Donets river to the west of Izyum, a city that Russia turned into a stronghold for its summer offensive into the Donbas in the summer.
Control of Balakliya could facilitate a Ukrainian attempt to encircle or partially encircle Izyum, said Kyiv-based military analyst Oleh Zhdanov.
Announcing the apparent counter-attack, Serhiy Leshchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's presidential office, said there would be "great news from President Zelensky on counter-offensive operation in Kharkiv region". He later deleted the social media post.
A pro-Ukrainian channel on the Telegram shared a picture of Ukrainian troops riding on an armoured personnel carrier through the town of Balakliya.
It also shared an unverified account from a Ukrainian soldier that said Kyiv's forces had liberated more than 10km of Russian-held territory.
In the weeks before the surprise attack, Russian military sources revealed concerns over an unusual build-up of Ukrainian forces in the Kharkiv region.
Western analysts said Moscow's inability to fight back against the fresh assault was a clear sign of disarray within its forces.
The attack near Kharkiv, in the east of the country, comes a week after Ukraine launched a much-hyped assault against a vulnerable Russian pocket on the west bank of the Dnipro river in Kherson, on the southern front.
The purpose of the assault was not immediately clear, but it may be intended as a diversion to keep the Russians from reinforcing Kherson.
On Monday Ukrainian forces mounted a surprise attack across the Siversky Donets river in the Donetsk region at a village called Ozernoye.
No reason for the operation was given. Russian media later claimed the town had been retaken.
'In a grave condition'
The attack came as as a top Russia-installed official in occupied southern Ukraine was injured in a car bombing.
Artyom Bardin, the Russia-appointed head of Berdyansk on the Black Sea, "is in hospital in a grave condition after his car blew up on Tuesday afternoon", Vladimir Rogov, another Russia-appointed official, said.
Footage from the scene showed Mr Bardin’s car charred and mangled from what appeared to be a powerful explosion that scattered debris all over the street.
Mr Rogov said the explosion was caused by ammunition that was planted in the official’s car. He would not give any other details but blamed Ukraine for the incident.
Another blast in Berdyansk was reported a few hours later but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Russia-occupied towns in southern Ukraine have seen a flurry of attacks on figures in the occupation administration in what the Ukrainian government has hailed as the work of partisans behind enemy lines.
It came as Vladimir Putin and his most senior military aides oversaw the first large-scale war games involving China and other Kremlin-friendly allies since the start of the invasion.
The Russian president flew to the far eastern city of Vladivostok for the live-fire exercise in the Sea of Japan on Tuesday.
He was joined by Sergei Shoigu, his defence minister, and Valery Gerasimov, military chief of staff, at the Sergeevsky training range in Primorye.
Footage showed the three, who have rarely been seen together since the war began, sitting in silence at an observation platform.
More than 50,000 Russian soldiers and more than 5,000 pieces of military equipment, including 140 aircraft and 60 ships, will be involved in the seven-day joint exercise.
China sent its Type 055 destroyer, the largest of its kind in Beijing's navy, to join the so-called Vostok-2022 training mission.
