By AFP.
Ukrainian armed forces in a successful nighttime local counterattack pushed Russian forces northward from Kharkiv, in a bid to halt continuous Russian shelling of the city, Ukrainian officials said on March 9.
Oleh Sinehubov, commander of Kharkiv region defenses, in a YouTube statement said the city’s defenses are holding and that Ukraine Armed Forces (UAF) in the vicinity have suffered no new casualties from bombardment.
He said that on the night of March 8-9, a joint force of UAF regulars, National Guard and Territorial Defense raided Russian artillery positions to the north of Kharkiv, putting gunners to flight “against Russian artillery pieces.”
Sinehubov also asserted that over the night, UAF air defense units turned back Russian bombers that were launched from the Russian city of Belgorod intending to bomb Kharkiv. Russian forces began bombarding Kharkiv last week in an apparent bid to force the city’s leadership to surrender.
More than 150 civilians have died in the attacks, according to city estimates.
The shelling and air bombing has mostly struck civilian residences and infrastructure, and Russian attempts to destroy plants producing electricity and heat are continuing, according to a Kharkiv city police warning to citizens on March 9.