KYIV.UkraineGate . 14 . September . 2022 | Society.
Russia recognized its defeat in the Kharkiv region. This is the first time that Moscow has openly admitted defeat since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Analysts of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) report this .
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“The Kremlin has admitted its defeat in the Kharkiv region. Moscow openly admitted defeat for the first time since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. “Kremlin officials and state media propagandists are actively discussing the reasons for Russia’s defeat in the Kharkiv region, a marked change from their previous pattern of reporting on exaggerated or fabricated Russian successes with limited detail,” the report said.
Details
It is noted that the Kremlin never admitted that Russia was defeated around Kyiv or, later, on Zmiiny Island, viewing the retreat from Kyiv as a decision to prioritize the “liberation” of Donbas, and the exit from Zmiiny Island as a “gesture of goodwill.”
The Institute for the Study of War reports that the Russian Ministry of Defense initially offered a similar explanation for the Russian failure in Kharkiv, claiming that Russian forces were withdrawing troops from the Kharkiv region to regroup, but this false narrative was met with swift and loud criticism online.
“Sources in the Kremlin are now working to remove any responsibility for the defeat from Putin, instead blaming the loss of almost all of the occupied Kharkiv region on insufficiently informed military advisers from Putin’s entourage,” analysts report.
Addition
The Ministry of Defense reported that the real number of liberated territories in the Kharkiv region is almost twice as large – so far, the deoccupation of 300 settlements has been officially confirmed.
Experts say that Russia’s collapse in the Kharkiv region is the biggest problem in Vladimir Putin’s career, and that the Kremlin leader is running out of options. For more than two decades, dictator Putin has carefully cultivated his domestic political image as a strong foreign policy strategist capable of outwitting Western leaders and retu2rning Moscow to its former glory.
Source: Ukrgate