The Ukrainian command continues the counterattack on the settlements in the Donetsk region. According to the pro-Russian Telegram channel Rybar, on the night of September 14, units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine can begin an assault on positions in the direction of Pesok and Marinka. Ukrainian artillery and MLRS intensified shelling of positions in these settlements and on the western outskirts of Donetsk. A train with military equipment and personnel arrived at the railway station in Pokrovsk for an offensive in the Donetsk direction.
According to these data, Russia is conducting massive fire on Ukrainian positions in Kurdyumovka and Mayorsk, because of which the Armed Forces of Ukraine suffered losses and withdrew troops to reserve positions.
Pro-Russian Telegram channels also write that the Armed Forces of Ukraine managed to break through the defense of Russian forces in the village of Davydov Brod in the Kherson region. Later, this information was refuted, saying that all the attacks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were repulsed .
Entering Davydov Brod will mean that Ukrainian troops will move to the left bank of the Ingulets River. According to the source of The Insider, the battles for several settlements in the Kherson region are being fought to outline the contours of the offensive and make it possible to retreat, and not to Melitopol, but to Russia. It makes no sense to advance faster in the Kherson direction now because of the artillery support of the Russian group. Ukraine uses the tactics of squeezing out on the southern flank.
US intelligence officials do not rule out that after the successful counter-offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the occupied territories of the Kharkiv region, Russian troops will be forced to give up other occupied territories. The Washington Post writes about it. The Ukrainian counter-offensive, which led to a disorganized flight of Russian troops, could be a turning point in the war and increase pressure on Moscow, which will not be able to quickly raise, prepare and deliver new forces to the front.
In just a few days, the Ukrainian military was able to recapture almost the entire Kharkiv region, which Russian troops had occupied since the beginning of the war. Since September, Ukraine has returned 6,000 km² of territory under its control. This was stated on the eve of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in his video message on the results of the 201st day of the war. Earlier, the same information was reported by the Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Anna Malyar.
U.S. intelligence notes that Ukrainian forces are advancing cautiously and consolidating their gains, while Russian forces lack the weapons and men to hold the recently de-occupied towns and villages in the country's northeast. Some Russian units abandoned tanks, armored personnel carriers and ammunition as they fled.
The Russian military leadership is taking measures to replenish the troops with junior officers, writes the Crimean Wind Telegram channel. The early graduation of the 5th year cadets of the Nakhimov Black Sea Higher Naval School was announced in December this year. Also, early graduations will take place in other educational institutions of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.