The Ministry of Defense of Russia actually recognized the loss of the towns of Izyum and Balaklia in the Kharkiv region, but called it an "operation to roll back and transfer troops."
The Russian Ministry of Defense published a corresponding statement on September 10.
The purpose of this "rolling back" is to transfer the troops to the Donetsk direction.
"For this purpose, an operation was carried out for three days to collapse and organize the transfer of the Izyum-Balaklia group of troops to the territory of the DPR," Russia said.
- The Armed Forces of Ukraine have been actively moving in the Kharkiv region for the past few days. Ukrainian troops have already liberated 30 settlements, including Kupyansk and Balaklia. In the Kherson region, the armed forces advanced several dozens of kilometers.