Several videos have surfaced on social media showing people tearing down Russian rags in some settlements from where Russian troops have already withdrawn but the Ukrainian Air Force has not yet arrived.
People tearing down russian rags in some settlements, where the occupiers have already withdrawn from, but the UAF haven't entered yet. pic.twitter.com/Pgh0hRbH4b
— Anonymous Operations (@AnonOpsSE) September 11, 2022
We are not able to verify where the video is from.
Russia’s Defense Ministry announced on Saturday that it is withdrawing troops from Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region, where a Ukrainian fighting force has made significant progress in the last week. The announcement came after days of noticeable Ukrainian advances south of Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city, in what could be the biggest battlefield success for Ukrainian forces since they foiled a Russian attempt to seize Kyiv.
In a press conference, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said troops would be regrouped from the Balakliya and Izyum areas and sent to Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. Izyum was a major Russian base in the Kharkiv region, and earlier this week, social media videos showed Balakliya residents cheerfully celebrating as Ukrainian troops moved in.
According to Konashenkov, Russia is acting “in order to achieve the stated goals of the special military operation to liberate Donbas,” one of the eastern Ukraine regions over which Russia has declared sovereignty.
