Russian soldiers who retreated from the northeastern part of Ukraine earlier this month left behind “high-value equipment,” the United Kingdom’s Defense Ministry said in its latest update.
Over the last two weeks or so, Ukraine launched two counteroffensives, one in the south and one in the northeast, and the latter had such success it resulted in the recapturing of more land than Russia had taken over from April through the end of August. Its success in the Kharkiv region has significantly altered the landscape of the war, though Russia still occupies significant portions of the south.
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“Some units retreated in relatively good order and under control, while others fled in apparent panic,” the ministry said on Thursday, noting that “high-value equipment abandoned by retreating Russian forces included capabilities essential to enable Russia’s artillery-centric style of warfare. Amongst these are at least one ZOOPARK counter-battery radar and at least one IV14 artillery command and control vehicle.”
They also left behind tanks with various operational statuses in the strategic city of Izyum, which is in the Kharkiv region, according to the Washington Post.
“Some of [the tanks] are no doubt reasonably functional,” Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, told the outlet. “You would expect at a major staging point that there would be quite a lot of equipment that is there specifically because it was damaged or needed servicing.”
A senior U.S. military official told reporters earlier this week, “We’re aware of anecdotal reports of abandoned equipment, Russian equipment, which could be indicative of Russia’s disorganized command and control.”
Amid Ukraine’s successful counteroffensive, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who visited the liberated city of Izyum on Wednesday, said earlier this week that Ukraine would not be interested in any diplomatic solutions that involve Russian troops remaining within their borders.
“We cannot agree with Russia now. We cannot discuss the substance with Russia until they get out of our territory. Afterward, yes, we can start talking about the sanction, policy, lifting certain sanctions. We can talk about reparations. We can talk about the monetary payments from them, diplomacy, dialogue,” Zelensky explained. “But after they vacate our territory because that’s the new page of the history would start from there.”
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed it had pulled its forces out of the cities of Balakliya and Izyum last weekend, claiming that they are planning to “regroup” in order to “achieve the goals of the special military operation.” Since then, Kremlin leaders have declined to call up their reserve forces, and should they do so, would likely force them to acknowledge to the Russian people that they’re engaged in an unsuccessful war.
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Kremlin officials have sought to strengthen their ties to other non-Western authoritarian countries, including Iran and North Korea. They have purchased drones from Iran, which have already been used on the battlefield, according to Ukrainian officials, while they’ve sought to acquire millions of rockets and artillery shells.
China has remained a lifeline for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday, though Russia has not sought to purchase military equipment from China, Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said last week.
