Fierce battles began in the area of the Russian-occupied city of Balakleya, Izyumsky district, Kharkiv region, and the fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a counteroffensive. The Russian Ministry of Defense reports that drones were allegedly shot down in the area of the settlement, and military correspondent Yuri Kotenok claims that the Armed Forces of Ukraine occupied the northwestern part of the village of Verbovka, divided by a river into two parts. Armed Forces Colonel in reserve, military expert Roman Svitan confirmed to The Insider that counter-offensive operations are underway.
He added that a bridge had been blown up in Balakliya today. According to him, it was from this city that the Russian group in Izyum planned an offensive to the south or southwest in order to cut off supplies from Slavyansk. This week, counter-offensive operations are being carried out in the south-east of Ukraine and in the Izyum region, the expert adds. Svitan claims that the "Izyum group" of the Russian Federation is almost surrounded.
“In the north it is Chuguev, and further in a semicircle: Balakleya, which the Russians occupied, and further along the Seversky Donets almost to Seversk. So, this whole Izyum group is supplied through Kupyansk from the Russian Valuyek and Belgorod – these are two railways that converge in Kupyansk and feed this Izyum group. After HIMARS began to carry out the Izyum warehouses, the crossing, they cut off the Izyum grouping and the right bank from the supply.
According to Svitan, on September 5, the village of Ozernoye was liberated, which is a “bridgehead on the northern bank of the Seversky Donets”. He explained that now artillery, MLRS, aviation, anti-tank groups and armored formations are working in the direction of Balakliya, which have held almost the entire "Izyum group" for the past few months. All this did not allow the Russian army to cross the Seversky Donets and go from the west to the rear; now these armored units are reinforced with infantry units and artillery and go on the offensive, the expert emphasizes.
“The attack on Izyum is also coming from the south from Seversk. Ozernaya is one of the points, further Liman and Izyum. If this offensive is carried out with access to Kupyansk, where there is a bridgehead in the Chuguev region, then this Izyum group will be in the boiler, where there are approximately 15 thousand people. It will be surrounded by fire in the south from Seversk, and in the north from Kupyansk. If we cut off Kupyansk, then we will get a rather large-scale cauldron. This level of scale was in 1942, when the Germans created the Izyum cauldron, and the Russian group could fall into the same cauldron. The Soviet army then came from under Izyum, as it is now.
Svitan clarified that he meant the Kharkov operation of 1942 (the Second Battle for Kharkov), as a result of which the Red Army was surrounded.
