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What the Kharkiv offensive had changed by 13 September 2022
Summary
A look back at the state of the war in Kharkiv Oblast and beyond, as Ukrainian advances continued and Russian strikes hit infrastructure.
How far had Ukraine's advance in the north-east gone by 13 September 2022? Further than almost anyone had expected a week earlier, judging by the reports of the preceding days.
The Kharkiv counteroffensive began on 6 September 2022, as a second front alongside the push in the south near Kherson. By 11 September, Russian forces were withdrawing from most of Kharkiv 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.
Gains on 12 September
On 12 September, Ukrainian forces said they had seized 20 more settlements in 24 hours, including Dvorichna, and claimed to have captured many Russian prisoners of war. The Ukrainian general staff also reported that Russian troops had abandoned Svatove in Luhansk Oblast as Ukrainian forces advanced.
The same day, multiple explosions were reported near Taganrog in Rostov Oblast, Russia. More than 30 municipal deputies of Russian cities signed a petition calling for President Vladimir Putin to resign, amid the substantial Ukrainian advances.
Strikes on infrastructure
Russia had answered 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.
A new weapon over Kupiansk
On 13 September, the Ukrainian military said it had shot down an Iranian-made HESA Shahed 136 combat drone operated by Russia near Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast. An inscription on the wreckage identified it as an "M214 Geran-2", a designation that did not immediately correspond to known Russian weaponry.
Kupiansk was among the major Kharkiv Oblast towns Russian forces had captured earlier in the invasion, which began on 24 February 2022. Later, from November 2022, Russia held only a small portion of the oblast.
