The Russian army surprisingly announced on Saturday the withdrawal of its troops from areas in eastern Ukraine, including the areas around Balakliya and Izyum. According to the Russian account, the troops will be moved further south to reinforce Russian forces in the Donetsk region.

Military experts see a recapture of Izyum by Ukraine as a serious setback for the Russian army in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine had reported the recapture of at least 30 towns in the eastern Kharkiv region in the past few days. According to this, the Ukrainian armed forces succeeded, among other things, in recapturing the eastern Ukrainian city of Kupjansk, which is important for the supply of Russian troops and was already occupied at the beginning of the Russian war of aggression.

Images released by the Ukrainian military showed boxes of ammunition abandoned by Russian troops and abandoned military vehicles.