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Kharkiv collapse and the drone over Kupiansk
Summary
On 13 September 2022, Ukraine reported downing an Iranian-made drone near Kupiansk, as Russian positions in Kharkiv Oblast gave way.
What did the battlefield in north-eastern Ukraine look like on 13 September 2022? It was defined by a rapid Russian retreat, a new type of weapon appearing over the front line, and strikes on civilian infrastructure.
On that date, the Ukrainian military said it had shot down an Iranian HESA Shahed 136 combat drone, operated by Russia, near Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast. An inscription on the drone identified it as an "M214 Geran-2", a designation that did not immediately correspond to known Russian weaponry.
A counteroffensive gathering pace
The drone was downed in territory that Ukraine was in the process of retaking. The offensive in Kharkiv Oblast had begun on 6 September 2022, as a second front alongside the Kherson counteroffensive in the south announced in late August. By 11 September, Russian forces had withdrawn from most of the oblast, and Ukrainian soldiers had retaken Chkalovske and Velykyi Burluk. The governor of Belgorod Oblast, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that thousands of civilians were fleeing across the border into his region.
On 12 September, the Ukrainian general staff reported that Russian troops had abandoned Svatove in Luhansk Oblast. Ukrainian forces also said they had seized 20 more settlements in the previous 24 hours, including Dvorichna, and claimed to have captured many Russian prisoners of war.
Kupiansk was among the major towns Russian forces had occupied after the February 2022 invasion, together with Izium and Balakliia. The appearance of a drone near it came as that occupation was unravelling.
Strikes on infrastructure
Russia responded on 11 September with Kalibr cruise missile strikes on critical infrastructure, including Kharkiv TEC-5. The strikes caused a total blackout and water shutdown in north-eastern Ukraine and in Kharkiv and Donetsk Oblasts. Ukrainian officials confirmed that at least 40 electrical substations had been destroyed.
Pressure inside Russia
The fallout reached Russian territory as well. On 12 September, multiple explosions were reported near Taganrog in Rostov Oblast. The same day, more than 30 municipal deputies from Russian cities signed a petition calling for President Vladimir Putin to resign, amid the substantial Ukrainian advances.
What the drone signalled
The unclear marking on the downed drone is the detail that set 13 September apart. A weapon identified by Ukraine as Iranian-made carried a name that did not match known Russian systems. Taken together with the week's events, it showed Russia reaching for new means as its ground position in Kharkiv Oblast gave way and Ukraine's forces pressed forward.
