LVIV: According to a US defence think tank, Ukrainian forces "look to have won the battle of Kharkiv," in what appears to be their fastest advance since Russian troops withdrew from Kiev and the north-east over a month ago, according to reports.

Analysts said on Saturday that Russian battalions had not sought to defend their lines against counterattacking Ukrainian troops around the city, another seeming defeat for Vladimir Putin's military goals. Since the beginning of the battle in February, Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city and only 31 miles (50 kilometres) from the Russian border, has been under enemy fire.

The report said, the Institute for the Study of War in the United States claimed in its latest assessment of the battle that the Russians appeared to be retreating and aiming to replace their own troops with proxy forces or mercenaries.
"The Battle of Kharkiv appears to have been won by Ukraine." "Ukrainian forces prevented Russian soldiers from surrounding, let alone conquering Kharkiv, and then withdrew them from the city's environs, just as they did to Russian forces attempting to grab Kiev," according to the institute. With a few exceptions, Russian units have "usually not attempted to maintain terrain against counterattacking Ukrainian forces during the preceding several days."

"Reports from western diplomats and a video from a Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) officer show that Moscow is more concerned with performing an orderly retreat and bringing Russians home before allowing proxy forces into Russia than with holding its positions near the city.

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