The counter-offensive of the Ukraine seems to add to the Russian troops. The Kremlin is therefore sending reinforcements to the embattled Kharkiv region. The region is an important rail hub for supplying Putin's troops.
The Russian army is sending armored vehicles and cannons to reinforce the Kharkiv region in northern Ukraine in response to the Ukrainian counter-offensive. This was reported by Russian news agencies with reference to images from the Ministry of Defense. Moscow-appointed head of administration for the Kharkiv region, Vitaly Ganchev, said on television that there were "heavy fighting" near the town of Balakliya.
Ukraine previously reported that in the Kharkiv region to the north-east, units had advanced 50 kilometers into enemy territory and recaptured more than 20 villages. According to Ukraine, Russian forces were also driven out of the town of Balaklija. The 27,000-inhabitant town is located between the embattled city of Kharkiv and the Russian-occupied Izyum, where there is an important railway junction for Russian supplies. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy then declared on Wednesday evening that his government had "good news from the Kharkiv region" and that "the Ukrainian flag had returned" to several settlement areas.
The region has been partially occupied by the Russian army since the first days of the Russian war of aggression on February 24. The city of Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine, is regularly shelled by Russian troops, but has not been taken so far. In the region, the Ukrainian troops had surprisingly launched a counter-offensive this week. For weeks they have been advancing to the south in the Cherson region, which lies across from the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.
According to estimates by British secret services, Moscow is still trying to generate reinforcements for the Ukraine war in view of the high losses. According to British intelligence information, volunteer battalions of the new so-called third army corps left their base near Moscow by August 24 - presumably in the direction of Ukraine.
