Kremlin admits withdrawal of Russian troops from Kharkiv region
The Russian Defense Ministry admitted that Russian troops lost of control over the city of Balakliya, Kharkiv region.
On the map, which was shown during the briefing of the Russian Defemnse Ministry’s spokesperson Igor Konashenkov, Balakliya was removed from the zone showing the Russia controlled territory, while it was there the day before.
"To achieve the stated goals of the special military operation to liberate the Donbas, it was decided to regroup Russian troops located in the areas of Balakliya and Izyum to increase efforts in the Donetsk direction. During this operation, several distracting and disguise activities were carried out to accomplish the real actions of the troops, " said the Russian Defense Ministry.
The surrender of the occupied Izyum was reported earlie by pro-Russian military telegram channels and authorities of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the situation around Balakliya and redirected this question to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Earlier, The Russian Defense Ministry closed comments on its pages in social networks after numerous critical comments about the surrender of Balakliya.