Summary update: Front not yet stabilized. Withdrew across the Oskol in Kupyansk. From 10K from Izyum.
“1. At night, the RF Armed Forces withdrew behind Oskol in Kupyansk (yesterday the bridge across the river was badly damaged) and the enemy began to occupy the western part of Kupyansk in the morning. The RF Armed Forces were in the eastern part of the city in the morning.
2. The enemy continued to attack in the Izyum direction, trying to go directly to Izyum. As of yesterday evening, the front was 5-10 km from the city. The enemy DRG moving along Oskol sought to reach Gorokhovatka and further to Oskol.
3. Krasny Liman began to be subjected to artillery strikes in the morning, and in the morning an attack began on the positions of the RF Armed Forces in the area of Krasny Liman from the area of the Old Caravan. The goal of the enemy is to capture the Krasny Liman and further attack on Oskol, in order to cut off the Izyum grouping. In the event of the loss of Krasny Liman, the question of the need to withdraw the entire Izyum group may rise to its full height. However, the issue of the withdrawal of troops is already on the agenda, since there is not an illusory threat of encirclement near Izyum.
4. Regarding Balakleya, the enemy posted confirming photographs of control from the northern part of the warehouses. The capture of Balakleya has not yet been announced.
In general, the operational crisis after the enemy breakthrough near Balakleya continues to develop. The command has not yet succeeded in stabilizing the front.”
Difficulty in war with a strong enemy !
“Today and the next few days we will not receive the most joyful news, and crests will dump gigabytes of photos and videos from the settlements we left behind. Kupyansk has been abandoned and, in fact, we cannot hold out on the right bank of the Oskol River now. I will say this, the decision to withdraw our troops is a military necessity that has prevailed over political expediency, and we must pay tribute to the fact that he who gave the order to withdraw showed courage.
The overslept counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Balakley-Izyum sector, the state of the troops in this area, the lies in the reports to the top, let those who are supposed to deal with all this. I repeat, in the current conditions, an organized withdrawal is the only right decision. And thank God that despite serious territorial losses, our losses in personnel are very small, especially considering the scope of the operation.
In our history, there were the most difficult defeats, after some we became stronger and repaid the enemy a hundredfold, after others, the country itself slipped into disaster. The main thing now is to understand that the Izyum-Balakley battle is Narva, and not Tsushima or Mukden. No need to sprinkle ashes on your head, look for traitors and build conspiracy theories. Such searches lead to a false path, which not only does not correct mistakes, but also aggravates them. We must calmly analyze what happened and realize that there is a difficult war with a strong enemy.”