As Europe clashes with Putin, Ukraine says Russia’s Sumy operation ‘failed’

In the past week, Russia has ramped up a diplomacy of intimidation in the Baltic Sea using planes, drones and words aimed at Ukraine’s European allies.

After threats towards Finland earlier in September, Russia violated Estonian airspace on Friday and German airspace on Sunday, days after it had flown two dozen drones into Poland.
Russia’s escalation came ahead of the United Nations General Assembly where it has many sympathisers among the world’s 195 nations, and seemed designed to isolate Europe, Australia and Japan, where support for Ukraine is staunchest.

This diplomatic theatre, during which United States President Trump in a major shift claimed Ukraine could win back its territory, played out against intensifying Russian attacks on Ukraine that resulted in territorial losses for Russia in Ukraine’s east and north.

Russia not invincible
Ukrainian commander in chief Oleksandr Syrskii said on September 21 that his defenders had pushed Russian assault forces back from Dobropillia and Pokrovsk, two towns they have been fighting for intensively in the Donetsk region for a year.

“164.5sq km [64sq miles] have been liberated, and 180.8sq km [70sq miles] cleared of enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups,” Syrskii said. “Control was restored over seven settlements.”

Syrskii first mentioned Ukrainian advances in this direction on September 7, when he revealed that Ukrainian forces had taken back 51.5sq km (20sq miles) in August.

Presumably, his reference to 164.5sq km referred to gains in August and September, and suggested the Ukrainian forces were picking up speed.