Russians are demoralized and degraded — now we just have to 'drive the enemy out,' Ukraine says

After Ukraine's stunning successes successful recapturing Russian-occupied territory successful northeast and confederate Ukraine implicit the past week, the unit is present connected Kyiv to support the momentum successful its counteroffensive.

Western governments person hailed Ukraine's "significant progress" successful the warfare aft Kyiv announced it had reclaimed much than 8,000 quadrate kilometers (3,088 quadrate miles) of Russian-occupied territory since the commencement of September.

Ukraine's counterattacks prompted Russian forces to retreat from the Kharkiv portion successful the northeast of the state portion Kyiv announced that the Ukrainian emblem was erstwhile again being raised successful hundreds of villages crossed the area.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proclaimed Wednesday that "we are moving successful lone 1 absorption — guardant and towards victory."

The question connected everyone's lips present is whether this section marks a definitive turning constituent successful the war, and what comes next. Officials successful the state are understandably cautious astir showing Kyiv's hand.

"We anticipation this is simply a starting point," Yuriy Sak, an advisor to Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, told CNBC Wednesday.

"We are usually cautious astir making immoderate predictions, and it's ever safer to accidental definite things aft they occur, but anyway, what has happened is successful galore respects unexpected adjacent for us," Sak added.

Ukraine's forces person been capable to recapture dozens of towns and villages successful the northeast of the state implicit the past fewer days, including the strategically important towns of Izyum and Kupiansk.

Ukraine's counterattacks successful the northeast came aft Russia redeployed troops distant from the portion to support areas they occupied successful the southbound aft Ukraine heavy signaled it would motorboat a counteroffensive astir the larboard metropolis of Kherson.

U.S. President Joe Biden hailed the "significant progress" Ukraine had made successful the past week but said it was "hard to tell" if it was a turning constituent successful the conflict, which has been raging since Feb. 24.

"The question is unanswerable. It's hard to tell. It's wide the Ukrainians person made important progress. But I deliberation it's going to beryllium a agelong haul," helium said Tuesday.

In Europe, meanwhile, the caput of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen praised Ukraine's advances and reiterated the region's committedness to supporting Ukraine for "the agelong haul," noting Wednesday that "we person seen successful the past days the bravery of Ukrainians paying off."

Defense Ministry authoritative Yuriy Sak told CNBC that Ukraine's equipped forces "will support the momentum" successful the conflict, readying much counteroffensive operations some successful the northeast and the south.

Nonetheless, helium noted, that "at the aforesaid time, we recognize who we are dealing with, right? So this is an service of warfare criminals, and genocidal army, they've not stopped the rocket terror."

Russian forces responded to Ukraine's wins successful caller days by pummeling Kharkiv's vigor infrastructure with rocket attacks and knocking retired h2o and powerfulness supplies successful the process.

Still, it's undoubted that a fig of Russia's forces present look to beryllium connected the backmost ft successful parts of Ukraine with Zelenskyy saying immoderate were fleeing backmost crossed the borderline to Russia.

Aanalysts accidental that Ukraine's advances volition person shaken the Kremlin and judge that Russian President Vladimir Putin's authorities is looking much fragile this week.

With erstwhile failures successful Ukraine, specified arsenic the retreat from Kyiv successful April oregon the withdrawal from Snake Island, a strategical outpost successful the Black Sea, Russia has sought to downplay these maneuvers, mostly saying they were owed to Russia's forces "regrouping" oregon being "redeployed" elsewhere.

This time, with adjacent pro-Kremlin commentators criticizing the latest setbacks connected the battlefield, it appears to beryllium different.

"Kremlin officials and authorities media propagandists are extensively discussing the reasons for the Russian decision successful Kharkiv Oblast, a marked alteration from their erstwhile signifier of reporting connected exaggerated oregon fabricated Russian successes with constricted detail," analysts astatine the Institute for the Study of War said Tuesday.

The ISW noted the Russian Ministry of Defense's archetypal mentation for its nonaccomplishment successful Kharkiv, claiming its forces were withdrawing from the portion to "regroup," had faced "quick and large disapproval online" and that the Kremlin's acknowledgment of the decision was present "part of an effort to mitigate and deflect disapproval for specified a devastating nonaccomplishment distant from Russian President Vladimir Putin and onto the Russian Ministry of Defense and the uniformed subject command."

Kremlin sources "are present moving to wide Putin of immoderate work for the defeat, alternatively blaming the nonaccomplishment of astir each of occupied Kharkiv Oblast connected underinformed subject advisors wrong Putin's circle," it said.

It's present precise apt that Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu volition go Putin's "fall guy," 1 expert told CNBC Tuesday.

"This is an embarrassing decision for the Russians," said Samuel Ramani, a geopolitical expert and subordinate chap astatine the Royal United Services Institute, adding that determination would beryllium a propulsion successful Moscow to blasted Russia's Ministry of Defense for failings successful the subject run successful Ukraine.

"There's a batch of recriminations and interior speech [in Russia astir the subject failures], but we shouldn't presumption this arsenic a motion that Putin is getting weaker. The absorption needs to beryllium mostly connected the defence ministry," helium noted.

"Putin volition support Shoigu determination to instrumentality the disapproval and instrumentality the heat, portion helium keeps shuffling and firing little level commanders. Already we've seen successful six weeks 2 commanders get fired successful the occidental subject territory unsocial ... So Putin is not anemic close now, the disapproval isn't going to him, it's going to the defence ministry," helium noted.