Breakthrough Russian Defence Line: AFU Advanced 70 Kilometres

The rapid Ukrainian offensive is destroying the Russian axis in the northern Donbas.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region broke through the lines of the occupiers to a depth of up to 70 kilometers. The Ukrainian forces are likely to finally liberate Izyum within 48 hours.

RBC-Ukraine reported about it with reference to map data of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

"Ukrainian forces have penetrated Russian lines to a depth of up to 70 kilometers in some places and captured over 3,000 square kilometers of territory in the past five days since September 6 – more territory than Russian forces have captured in all their operations since April," the statement reads.

The Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region is routing Russian forces and collapsing Russia’s northern Donbas axis.

It is indicated that Russian forces are not conducting a controlled withdrawal and are hurriedly fleeing the southeastern Kharkiv region to escape encirclement around Izyum.

"Russian forces have previously weakened the northern Donbas axis by redeploying units from this area to Southern Ukraine, complicating efforts to slow the Ukrainian advance or at minimum deploy a covering force for the retreat," analysts said.

However, Ukrainian successes, as noted by the ISW, are not limited to the Izyum region.

It is assumed that the Ukrainian troops are expected to have liberated Velikiy Burluk on September 10, which would place Ukrainian forces within 15 kilometers of the international border.

"Ukrainian forces will likely capture the city of Izyum itself in the next 48 hours if they have not already done so. The liberation of Izyum would be the most significant Ukrainian military achievement since winning the Battle of Kyiv in March. "It would eliminate the Russian advance in northwest Donetsk Oblast along the E40 highway that the Russian military sought to use to outflank Ukrainian positions along the Slovyansk – Kramatorsk line," the ISW explains.

Analysts add that a successful encirclement of Russian forces fleeing Izyum would result in the destruction or capture of significant Russian forces and exacerbate Russian manpower and morale issues.

Meanwhile the ISW draws attention that the Russians are facing challenges when evacuating from Izyum, indicating Ukrainian forces are at least partially closing a cauldron in some areas.