How a small Ukrainian city 'dealt Russian forces one of the most humiliating defeats of the war': WSJ
Russia's war in Ukraine has not gone as Vladimir Putin had hoped, in large part because his military faces fierce resistance from across the country.
Wall Street Journal chief foreign affairs correspondent Yaroslav Trofimov has written a lengthy new report illustrating the serious setbacks Russia is facing in its invasion by focusing on the small city of Voznesens'k, which the reporter writes has "dealt Russian forces one of the most humiliating defeats of the war."
Although Voznesens'k is a small city of only around 35,000 people, it is located in a strategically important area that could have given Russian forces a back door to assault the key port city of Odessa.
However, writes Trofimov, a two-day battle for control of the city quickly turned into a rout.
"Russian survivors of the Voznesensk battle left behind nearly 30 of their 43 vehicles — tanks, armored personnel carriers, multiple-rocket launchers, trucks — as well as a downed Mi-24 attack helicopter, according to Ukrainian officials in the city," he writes. "Russian forces retreated more than 40 miles to the southeast, where other Ukrainian units have continued pounding them. Some dispersed in nearby forests, where local officials said 10 soldiers have been captured."
Locals in the city tell Trofimov that they are united in their hatred for the invading Russians, which they say has propelled them to unexpected victory.
“We are defending our own land," said Yevheni Velichko, mayor of the city. "We are at home.”
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