2022 Kharkiv counteroffensive
The 2022 Kharkiv counteroffensive[a] was a major counteroffensive operation during the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on 6 September 2022.[17] Following the launch of the Kherson counteroffensive in southern Ukraine in late August, Ukrainian forces began a second counteroffensive in early September in Kharkiv Oblast, in Eastern Ukraine.[18]
Prelude
After weeks of Ukrainian propaganda about an imminent counteroffensive in southern Ukraine, Russia redeployed thousands of troops, including elite units such as the 1st Guards Tank Army, to Kherson Oblast, leaving its remaining troops manning a "stretched and tired Russian front that spanned some 1,300km – roughly the distance from London to Prague."[38][39][40][41][42]
The arrival of US-supplied HIMARS guided-rocket artillery enabled Ukrainian forces to strike up to 70 kilometres (43 mi) behind Russian lines, targeting Russian bases and ammunition depots as far back as Kupiansk and Kivsharivka in the weeks preceding the eastern counteroffensive. These strikes further weakened Russian logistics and morale.[38]
On 29 August, Ukraine announced it would soon launch an offensive in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine. Ukrainian units attacked soon after, and Russia's attention shifted to its Kherson line. While the Kherson offensive might have been genuine, Western analysts view it as part of a ploy to divert Russian forces away from Kharkiv prior to Ukraine's much larger eastern counteroffensive. In any case, Russian forces in Kharkiv were left understrength and unprepared in the days preceding 6 September.[43][44][45]
Russian authorities postponed annexation referendums in Russian-occupied Ukraine on 5 September 2022 due to security concerns.[42]