Russians Leave Behind Huge Arsenals of Ammunition While Retreating—Photo
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Russian troops are leaving behind huge arsenals of ammunition while retreating amid a Ukrainian counteroffensive, according to photos shared by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
The images, published by the SBU's press service on Telegram and Twitter, show an abandoned vehicle and what appears to be boxes of ammunition and equipment in an unsupervised storage space in Izyum, in Ukraine's southern Kharkiv region.
Russian troops retreated from the Izyum and Balakliya areas over the weekend in order to "regroup," according to Russia's Defense Ministry. Izyum is a major base for Russian forces in the Kharkiv region.
Above, children play on a T-72 tank with letter "Z", a propaganda symbol of support for military invasion on Ukraine, during the finals of the tank biathlon at a military polygon on August 27, 2022, in Alabino, Russia. Russian troops have been leaving behind ammunition as they flee the Kharkiv region, according to Ukraine.Contributor/Getty Images
"Russian invaders, under pressure from Ukrainian soldiers, are fleeing in such a way that they are leaving behind entire arsenals of ammunition," the SBU said. "We know what to do with them and we will definitely use them for their intended purpose—against the enemy."
Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser at the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, also said Sunday that Russian soldiers are fleeing so rapidly amid Kyiv's counteroffensive that they are leaving behind "half of their equipment."
Gerashchenko shared a video on Twitter that he said shows an abandoned Russian tank in Izyum.
Наші захисники радять почати цей ранок з Ізюму. Кажуть, корисно для здоров'я
А от російські окупанти тікають від українських воїнів так, що залишають після себе цілі арсенали боєприпасів.
І ми обов'язково використаємо їх за призначенням - проти ворога.
Слава Україні! pic.twitter.com/Aumo1iOcTo
— СБ України (@ServiceSsu) September 12, 2022
"Today our military accepted first lend lease supplies from Russia in Izyum (that's a joke, of course. I will mark my jokes for some time now)," he wrote. "Russian soldiers fled so fast they left half of their equipment."
Footage taken in Kharkiv by a U.S. volunteer, and shared with Newsweek on Sunday, also shows Russian tanks abandoned in the region.
The commander of Ukraine's military, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, said Sunday his troops have regained 3,000 square kilometers (1,158 square miles) of territory from the Russians since the beginning of September when a surprise Kharkiv counteroffensive began.
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The British Ministry of Defence said in an assessment Monday that the Russian military's trust in its leadership is likely to be deteriorating amid Ukraine's intensifying counteroffensive.
"In the face of Ukrainian advances, Russia has likely ordered the withdrawal of its troops from the entirety of occupied Kharkiv Oblast west of the Oskil River," the ministry tweeted.
"The rapid Ukrainian successes have significant implications for Russia's overall operational design. The majority of the force in Ukraine is highly likely being forced to prioritize emergency defensive actions," the ministry added. "The already limited trust deployed troops have in Russia's senior military leadership is likely to deteriorate further."
Meanwhile, Alexander Khodakovsky, a Kremlin-backed commander and former political leader in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine, offered a rare bleak assessment of Russia's performance in the ongoing war, saying that he is "depressed" by how the war is going.
Newsweek reached out to Russia's foreign ministry for comment.
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I would paint over the Z on that tank and replace it with a P.
There were photos showing the Ukrainians loading up captured Russian tanks and moving them to Ukraine territory.
Amazing how inept the Russian leadership is. I saw where Putin relieved another general after 17 days.
Wow the general lasted that long..
I don't think the Russians' hearts are in this fight. They really do see Ukrainians as fellow Russians. It would be kind of like asking Americans to invade and slaughter Canadians. At some early point everyone would be asking, "Why are we doing this?"
There is no answer because there can be no answer.
Ukraine should reclaim their territory then....keep right on going.
That strategy might require a little more thought.
Putin can Crimea river.
"...keep right on going."
... wearing their nuclear jackets.
Putin should be tried as a war criminal.
Ukraine will have to invade Russia first.
On the other hand, maybe like Stalin, Putin will suddenly drop dead and we'll all wonder what really happened?
Wasn't it reported a few days ago that Russia was so hard up that they were buying munitions from North Korea and Iran? Seems like no one can keep their stories straight. That's okay, just believe everything Zelensky says and everything will be fine. Zelensky is as American as apple pie, after all.
Ya, keep cheerleading for Putin.
I'm not cheerleading for Putin. I'm pointing out that everyone is kissing Soviet ass.
Democrats love Ukraine because it has an autocratic Soviet government. Republicans love Ukraine because they have big guns and kill people.
Ukraine deserves Russia just as much as Russia deserves Ukraine.
Dammit I thought Ukraine were Fascists and that is the reason Republicans loved them. Need a score card to keep this straight.
I thought Democrats loved Ukraine because it had one party rule; and the government shut down all opposing media and threw the political opposition in prison. Also Ukraine let's Dems get their inner Fascist on.
The US citizenry deserves Ukraine because we are dumb enough to keep officials in power that can't think beyond their genitalia when it comes to foreign policy. Since taking office Brandon and Congress have sent Ukraine over 58 billion dollars (That we know of. Who knows how much more that is hidden in the budget for the military and the alphabet agencies was funneled there that we don't know about?) Anyone think that we are going to see a damn dime of money back from Ukraine? Once this is over and Ukraine wins; who the hell does everyone think will be on the hook to rebuild their country?
Russia? Try again- their economy is destroyed already. Their military not far behind. It will take them years to rebuild both. Chances are they hand over Putin to the West (alive or dead); and call it good. Also anyone that thinks the next Russian leader is going to be a warm, fuzzy, pro western type hasn't been following history. Every leader since Gorbachev has been a harsher former Soviet hard liner than the last. Who knows maybe we will get lucky and the next Russian leader will be a military genius and know western tactics.
Europe. Don't make me laugh. Our "allies" will beg off saying that Covid has ruined their economies; and the Russian/Ukraine war has forced them to finally addressed all of their military short comings.
That will leave the US. Before the war politicians from both parties were sending their children to Ukraine to bask in the financial privilege being connected brought. With the amount of money the US will be sending Ukraine to rebuild; even those with minor political connections will be to cash in. At least that will make politicians and their financial backers happy. Given our track record of rebuilding countries- expect Ukraine to take us for all they can; and then spit in our faces.
Biden is trying to recover from the botched up withdrawal from Afghanistan. That's the only apparent motivation for fighting a war we won't fight. IMO the tally so far is $64 billion spent on Biden's polling. But, as you point out, that's only going to be a down payment. We're stuck in this for a decade. The US diplomatic corps and military seem to do their planning on a decade basis so the timeline has been set by the Federal bureaucracy and not by events in Ukraine. A ten year commitment by the United States is being driven by bureaucratic inertia.
Zelensky has already tried to coopt American history (and mythology) for his own purposes. Zelensky even coopted the 9/11 attacks on Sept. 11 to remind the US that it's supposed to be sympathetic. That's how Soviet propaganda has worked since the end of WWII. Zelensky will lie, cheat, swindle, and steal. The ends justify the means. Right now Zelensky is under pressure to produce a great victory. That is necessary to keep the gravy train going. Winter is coming and the US/Europe sugar daddies are going to have bigger things to worry about.
Biden won't have to worry about what the US does with its pet Soviet. So, its the Federal bureaucracy that will ensure a continuation of policy into the next administration. When the Russians pull back from Ukraine (and they will) there will be a growing conflict between the EU government and NATO. The end of the war in Ukraine will be the start of the power struggle in Europe. Biden certainly doesn't want to deal with that so it's likely Biden will want to drag out the war until the end of his term.
Biden is fighting a war that he won't fight. And everyone else is paying a hefty price. But, hey, it's the next election that really matters.