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Kharkiv Oblast collapse: Russia's retreat of 12 September 2022
Summary
A look back at the day Ukrainian forces pressed their Kharkiv advance, Russian local deputies called for Putin's resignation, and explosions were reported near Taganrog.
What did Russia's position in eastern Ukraine look like on 12 September 2022? By that date, the occupation of much of Kharkiv Oblast was unravelling, and the effects were being felt well beyond the front line.
The Ukrainian general staff reported that Russian troops had abandoned the city of Svatove in Luhansk Oblast as Ukrainian forces advanced. In Kharkiv Oblast, Ukrainian forces said they had seized 20 more settlements in the previous 24 hours, including Dvorichna, and also claimed to have captured many Russian prisoners of war.
A counteroffensive gathers pace
The advance had begun on 6 September 2022, when Ukraine's armed forces launched a major counteroffensive in Kharkiv Oblast. It followed the announcement in late August of a separate counteroffensive in the south, around Kherson.
The gains of the preceding days were substantial. On 10 September, Ukrainian troops retook Balakliia, Kupiansk and Izium. The Russian Defence Ministry confirmed that it was withdrawing troops from several towns in Kharkiv Oblast, saying the aim was to let its forces regroup and reinforce the Donbas. On 11 September, Russian forces withdrew from most of the oblast, and Ukrainian soldiers retook Chkalovske and Velykyi Burluk.
Civilians and infrastructure
The retreat had consequences across the border. On 11 September, the governor of Belgorod Oblast, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that thousands of civilians were fleeing into the region.
That same day, Russia launched missile strikes with Kalibr cruise missiles on critical infrastructure, including Kharkiv TEC-5. The strikes caused a total blackout and water shutdown in north-eastern Ukraine and in the Kharkiv and Donetsk oblasts. Ukrainian officials confirmed that at least 40 electrical substations had been destroyed.
Pressure inside Russia
The military reverses were accompanied by unusual political dissent. On 12 September, more than 30 municipal deputies from Russian cities signed a petition calling for President Vladimir Putin to resign, amid the substantial Ukrainian advances.
The same day, multiple explosions were reported near the city of Taganrog in Rostov Oblast, in Russia.
What the day showed
The events of 12 September 2022 captured several developments at once: continuing Ukrainian recapture of territory in Kharkiv Oblast, the abandonment of Svatove, Russian strikes on infrastructure, and open calls for the Russian president's resignation from local deputies. Later, the occupation of Kharkiv Oblast shrank further; since November 2022, Russia has held only a small portion of the oblast.
