JRL NEWSWATCH: “In Russian Border City, Pro-Kremlin Ukrainians, Soldiers Regroup After Retreat From Ukraine” – WSJ
“Belgorod is on edge after Moscow’s forces vacate northeastern Ukraine. ‘We ourselves don’t understand what happened.'”
“… Russian troops occupying … [Kharkiv] towns … promised locals they would stay forever. Instead, Ukrainian forces drove Russian troops out of most of the region this month, retaking about 3,500 square miles of territory in … days. The lightning advance left Russian troops scrambling to retreat, pro-Kremlin Ukrainians fleeing across the border into Russia, and Russians seeking answers after Ukraine recaptured territory along the shared border. The retreat, one of Moscow’s largest setbacks since Russian troops failed to take the capital of Kyiv early in the war, poses stiff political and military challenges to the Kremlin as the conflict drags into a seventh month. Moscow had spent lives and resources over weeks capturing the territory in a plodding offensive before losing, in a matter of days, more than 10% of the territory it had secured since invading Ukraine. …”