Ukraine is reporting a symbolic success in its counter-offensive in the eastern Kharkiv region: its troops have advanced – at least in one place – to the border with Russia. This is evidenced by a video released by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense on Monday night. It shows about a dozen soldiers posing next to a border post in Ukraine’s national colors of blue and yellow. According to the information, they belong to a volunteer brigade from the city of Kharkiv.
Former Ukrainian Ambassador to Austria Olexander Scherba also shared the video and translated the words of the soldiers: “Mr President, we have reached the Ukrainian state border with the enemy state (Russia). Mr President, we did it!” cheer the troops, their words obviously addressed to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Scherba cheers: “Glory to Ukraine! Glory to their heroes!”
The Ukrainian military had already reported in the past few days that they were gradually pushing back Russian troops near Kharkiv. Russia had already withdrawn its troops in northern Ukraine after being stopped outside the capital, Kyiv. Russia is currently concentrating on the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, where pro-Russian separatists have controlled some areas with help from Moscow since 2014.
Another video apparently shows the moments before the border triumph, when the soldiers carry the blue and yellow through dense vegetation and set it up. On Twitter, a user writes: “It has great symbolic power. Great. Here we see the 227th Battalion of the 127th Territorial Defense Brigade of Ukraine north of Kharkiv near the border with Russia. They restore the pillar of INDEPENDENCE. This is how good triumphs. And I believe this will only be the first in a series of such videos. A blow to the Bolsheviks!”
