Ukraine claims victory on Oskil river front, says pushed back Russia’s advancing forces

The Ukrainian military on Tuesday said it had thwarted a Russian attempt to crossover key waterway on the Oskil riverfront in the east.

A video published by the military showed Ukrainian soldiers pushing back Russian forces near the village of Novomlynsk. The army said that the western bank of the Oskil River is officially under Ukrainian control as soldiers raised a state flag in Novomlynsk.

“As a result of the successful operation, the enemy was destroyed. The right bank of the Oskil River is under the control of the Defence Forces,” the Ukrainian military said in a statement.

How is the Oskil River significant?

Kyiv said Russian forces had tried to cross the Oskil River, which has long been a de facto front line across the east of the war-scarred country.

The waterway winds its way from Russia’s western border through the northeast of Ukraine, with Moscow and Kyiv’s forces entrenched on either side of sections of its banks.

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Moscow’s forces have been advancing in the Kharkiv region, which borders Russia and are closing in on the civilian hub of Kupiansk, which is divided by the Oskil River.

Kupiansk had a pre-war population of around 27,000 people and was occupied by Russian forces just days after the Kremlin launched its invasion when the town’s mayor ceded control.

Russia captures villages

While Ukraine gained at the riverfront, it lost a few villages to Russia on the eastern and southern fronts on Tuesday.

The Russian defence ministry said that its troops have captured the villages of Novodarivka in the southern Zaporizhzhia region and Romanivka in the eastern Donetsk region.

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Apart from seizing territories, the Russian army also claims to have “improved its tactical position” in the northeastern Kharkiv region, including around Kupiansk, though did not comment on the alleged attempted river crossing.

Nearly three years into the invasion, Russian forces have intensified their offensive, seizing more Ukrainian territory in November than in any month since March 2022, based on an AFP analysis of data from the US Institute for the Study of War.

Russia fires N.Korean missiles

Russia used North Korean missiles against Ukraine, a military spokesperson told Radio Free Europe on Monday. The development comes amid reports that North Korean troops have been deployed in Russia to fight in the Ukraine war.

Andrii Cherniak, a military intelligence spokesperson, said that Moscow fired at least 60 KN-23 ballistic missiles against Ukraine.

With inputs from agencies