Ukraine’s defense ministry has poked fun at the Russian military, saying Ukraine has seized huge finds of ammunition that it promises to use against invading forces.
In a sarcastic Twitter post on Friday, the ministry said it had received “thousands of tons of ammunition as gifts” from the Russian armed forces over the past week. The ministry’s post follows reports of Ukraine’s success in retaking occupied lands in the south and north-east of the country. But the “gift” of the confiscated ammunition will be returned to Russia, the ministry added.
“Please note that we do not accept gifts from murderers, torturers, looters or rapists,” the ministry said in its post. “In the next few days we will return everything except the last shell.”
Abandoned ammunition boxes on the outskirts of Izyum, in eastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, are shown in this photo taken on Sept. 14, 2022. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry mocked Russia in a tweet about abandoned ammunition and vowed to use it against the invading country’s army. JUAN BARRETO/Getty Images
Ukrainian forces have regained control of most of northeastern Kharkiv province, including the nearby transport hub of Izyum, and also advanced around the southern city of Kherson.
So said the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based think tank tracking the progress of the counterattack in this week that Ukrainian forces have retaken about 3,475 square miles (nearly three times the size of Rhode Island) across the country since August 29.
Ukrainian forces took control of Kupyansk, a city in Kharkiv province on Friday when they met Russian resistance as they advanced east of the Oskil River, according to ISW. In the adjacent Russian administrative district of Belgorod, Ukrainian forces continued shelling, reportedly hitting a power substation, ISW said.
The British Ministry of Defence said in his intelligence update this week that Russian forces were leaving behind “high quality equipment” necessary for their “artillery-focused style of warfare.” The equipment left behind included at least one ZOOPARK counter-battery radar and at least one IV14 artillery command and control vehicle, according to the ministry.
“Such a task underscores the disorganized withdrawal of some Russian units and likely localized collapses in command and control,” the British department said.
Air Force Brigadier General Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, called Ukraine’s territorial gains “significant” during a news conference on Friday.
“What we’re assessing is that the Ukrainians are consolidating their gains after retaking significant territory and the Russians are trying to shore up their defenses after being pushed back,” Ryder said, referring to Ukraine’s achievements in the north .
In the south of the country, Ukrainian forces are taking what Ryder described as a “deliberate, calculated forward movement” while the Russians continue to try to hold that line.
Ukrainian forces attacked Russia’s administrative headquarters in Kherson on Friday, likely using US-provided High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or “HIMARS,” according to ISW.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he remains committed to the war effort and focused on the Kremlin’s main goal of “liberating the entire Donbass territory” in eastern Ukraine.
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.