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Kharkiv breakthrough: what the front looked like
Summary
A look back at the military picture in Ukraine as of 8 September 2022, drawn from reports in the days before.
How far had Ukraine's forces moved by 8 September 2022? Reports from the preceding days pointed to gains in two directions at once.
In the north-east, a renewed counter-offensive in Kharkiv Oblast was reported on 7 September to have broken through Russian defences. Ukrainian forces were said to have advanced more than 30 kilometres into Russian-held territory, capturing many towns and cities, among them Balakliia.
In the south, the picture was one of smaller but visible steps. On 4 September, Ukrainian forces recaptured Vysokopillia in Kherson Oblast, a town under Russian occupation since March. The Ukrainian flag was raised over its hospital.
Pressure beyond the front
The war's effects also reached politics abroad. On 3 September, an estimated 70,000 people marched in Prague, the Czech capital, demanding that the government do more to control soaring energy prices. Marchers also voiced opposition to the country's involvement in the Russo-Ukrainian War. Political groups including the Communist Party organised the demonstration.
Taken together, the reports from those days show a front in motion in Kharkiv and Kherson oblasts, and a war whose costs were being debated in European streets.
