A stunningly successful Ukrainian counteroffensive in Kharkiv Oblast in the northeast liberated an estimated 3,800 square kilometers of territory, an area roughly the size of the US state of Rhode Island, in just two days as the Russian front line crumbled and troops retreated.
The Ukrainian advance not only captured key logistics and transportation hubs like Izyum, hampering Russia’s war effort in the east, but it also transformed the narrative of the war.
Prior to the Kharkiv offensive, the assumption was that we would see a deadlocked slow grinding war of attrition in the east that could last for years, giving Russia the opportunity to wear Ukraine down with artillery strikes and wear the West down by using energy supplies as a weapon.
But in its aftermath, there is now open talk that a Ukrainian victory is actually possible.
So what does the view from inside Ukraine look like after Kharkiv? On The Power Vertical Podcast this week, host Brian Whitmore speaks with Kharkiv-based security expert Maria Avdeeva, a non-resident expert at iSANS, and Volodymyr Dubovyk, an associate professor in the Faculty of International Relations at Mechnikov National University in Odesa and director of its Center for International Studies.
SHOW NOTES
The audio clips at the beginning of each segment were from a speech by Volodymyr Zelensky on September 15.
Clip opening podcast:
Ukrainians! I’ve returned from the Kharkiv region – from our Kharkiv region, from the districts that were liberated. As of today, almost the entire region is de-occupied. It was an unprecedented movement of our warriors – Ukrainians once again managed to do what many considered impossible.
Clip opening second segment:
I am thankful to all our warriors! I am thankful to everyone who participates in the rescue operations after the Russian strikes. We will respond to the terrorists for each of their vile acts, for each missile, for each projectile. We are capable of that. Glory to Ukraine!
The article in Foreign Policy on what a Ukrainian victory would mean for the region can be accessed here.