Russian Retreats Continue As Emboldened Ukrainians Push On; Ukrainian Troops Keep Up Pressure on Fleeing Russian Forces; Ukraine in full Control of 4,000 sq km of Recaptured Territory; Armed Forces of Ukraine Repel Russian Attacks in Donetsk Region, LIVE UPDATES and MORE

By admin On Sep 16, 2022

Russian retreats continue as emboldened Ukrainians push on, shoot down drone:

Moscow’s forces began evacuating a major city in southern Ukraine and Kyiv’s shot down an Iranian-made Russian drone Tuesday, as Ukraine’s lightning counter-offensive continued.

Russian troops were seen fleeing from Melitopol, a city in the southern portion of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia province, exiled mayor Ivan Federov said on social media.

“The occupiers ran from Melitopol towards the temporarily occupied Crimea,” Federov said on the messaging app Telegram.

He added that “columns of military equipment” from Melitopol were seen passing through Chonhar, some 70 miles to the southwest and bordering Crimea.

“This was expected — the rapid Ukrainian offensive leaves them no chance,” Federov said.

The reports of retreating Russians came hours after multiple explosions were reported in Melitopol near the local airfield, where occupying troops had set up a makeshift base.

There were no further details on those explosions Tuesday — but Melitopol has been a hotbed of Ukrainian guerrilla resistance since it fell to Russian troops early in the war.

It was unclear if Ukrainian troops had advanced towards the city, but the liberation of Melitopol, which sits between the occupied cities of Kherson and Mariupol, would deal yet another blow to Russia’s supply network inside occupied Ukraine. —>READ MORE HERE

Ukrainian troops keep up pressure on fleeing Russian forces:

Ukrainian troops piled pressure on retreating Russian forces Tuesday, pressing deeper into occupied territory and sending more Kremlin troops fleeing ahead of the counteroffensive that has inflicted a stunning blow on Moscow’s military prestige.

As the advance continued, Ukraine’s border guard services said the army took control of Vovchansk — a town just 3 kilometers (2 miles) from Russia seized on the first day of the war. Russia has acknowledged that it recently withdrew troops from areas in the northeastern region of Kharkiv.

Russian troops were also pulling out from Melitopol, the second largest city in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, the city’s pre-occupation mayor said. His claim could not immediately be verified.

Melitopol has been occupied since early March. Capturing it would give Kyiv an opportunity to disrupt Russian supply lines between the south and the eastern Donbas region, the two major areas where Moscow-backed forces hold territory.

Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov wrote on Telegram that the Russian troops were heading toward Moscow-annexed Crimea. He said columns of military equipment were reported at a checkpoint in Chonhar, a village marking the boundary between the Crimean peninsula and the Ukrainian mainland.

In the newly freed village of Chkalovske in the Kharkiv region, Svitlana Honchar said the Russians’ departure was sudden and swift. —>READ MORE HERE

Follow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:

+++++Russia-Ukraine News LATEST UPDATES: (REUTERS) (AP) (NY POST) and (WSJ)+++++

+++++Ukraine in full control of 4,000 sq km of recaptured territory -Zelenskiy+++++

+++++Armed Forces of Ukraine repel Russian attacks in Donetsk region and shoot down Russian plane – General Staff report+++++

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