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On September 7, the Armed Forces of Ukraine continued their military operations in the Kharkiv region aimed to establish tight control over the roads north of Balakleya in order to turn their tactical successes into operational ones.
During the day, Ukrainian forces launched several attacks near Balakleya in an attempt to surround the town in several directions.
Balakleya is still under the control of Russian forces, the AFU bypassed the town in the south and north, without getting involved in heavy street battles. Fighting is ongoing on the northern side of the city. The AFU still hold control of the western part of the Verbovka village located on the north-eastern outskirts of the town.
In the evening, several Russian military sources reported that allegedly Russian troops were retreating from Balakleya. Russian reserve units managed to broke through the operational encirclement of Balakleya to support the allied forces who have been fighting in the town for two days under heavy enemy fire. Currently, the wounded are being evacuated in an organized manner. Some sources deny reports that the Russian units are leaving their positions.
On September 7, Russian military reports were working in Balakleya. They showed the destruction in residential areas caused by the Ukrainian shelling:
To the north of the town, the road leading to Volokhov Yar was cut by the AFU in several areas. Fighting along this highway was reported in the area of Semenovka and Shevchenko. Control of Shevchenko paves the way for the offensive on Kupyansk. So far, Russian forces have managed to repel Ukrainian attacks in Shevchenko and hold control of the settlement. At the same time, the AFU are transferring reinforcements to the area likely aiming to take control of key transport arteries and forming a springboard for a further offensive on Kupyansk. The AFU have been shelling Kupyansk from the HIMARS MLRS for the second day.
Ukrainian tanks on their way to Balakleya:
The AFU show captured Russian positions south of Balakleya:
To the south of Balakleya, the AFU took control of the villages of Bayrak and Novaya Gusarovka, continuing their advance towards Zaliman and Savintsy. From Savintsy there is a direct road to the Chuguev-Izyum highway, leading to the rear of the Russian grouping in Izyum. If the AFU manage to cross the Seversky Donets river and advance towards Kunye, the Russian grouping in Izyum region will be threatened and Russian forces deployed in Balakleya will be cut off from supplies. The AFU are also concentrating forces in the area of the village of Dolina in order to strike at the Russian grouping in Izyum from the south.
The AFU shared video from Novaya Gusarovka:
The situation in the Kharkiv region remains tense. The both sides put their reserves to the front lines. The hastily transferred reserves of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation entered the battle, which repelled the attacks and did not allow the enemy to take Shevchenko. The Ukrainian command is transferring reinforcements and plans to resume strikes in order to take control of the road network north of Balakleya and create a springboard for an offensive on Kupyansk.
According to approximate estimations by Russian military reporters, the Ukrainian military command deployed about 9 thousand servicemen in offensive operations in the Kherson region. About 20% of them are foreign mercenaries.
The video shows Russian prisoners. Foreigners are heard speaking behind the camera:
The attack on the Izyum direction was being prepared in parallel with the attack on the Kherson region, where about 15 thousand servicemen were deployed. Having failed with the Kherson offensive, the AFU, as it was expected in advance, attempted to break through Russian defences in several areas near the city of Kharkov. where the offensive attempts were thwarted. Then, a large-scale offensive operation was launched near Balakleya. So far, successfully.
It remains unclear why the Russian military command failed to prepare their defences in the Kharkiv region as the AFU have been reinforcing their positions in the area for quite a long time and the plans of the Ukrainian military were quite evident. Russian losses in Balakleya pose a significant threat to the entire Russian grouping in the Izyum area. Russian units lost the possibility to enlarge their control zone on the northern DPR front lines and approach towards Ukrainian positions in the strategically important cities of Slavyansk and Kramatosrsk. The stated goal of “liberating the entire DPR territory” is now under threat.
