Rapid advance

Russia is pulling reserves from battleground regions in Ukraine to counter incursion, Ukrainian commander says

From CNN's Daria Tarasova and Caitlin Danaher 

Russia has pulled reserves from key battleground areas in Ukraine and Russian-occupied Crimea in an effort to hold back Ukrainian advances into Russian territory, a Ukrainian military commander told CNN Wednesday. 

Dymtro Kholod, commander of the “Nightingale” battalion, told a CNN team on the ground in Sumy that the military has “information” suggesting Russian soldiers are being pulled from Zaporizhzhia, Crimea, and Kharkiv to halt Ukraine’s continued advances into Russia’s Kursk region. 

“(The Russians) are now trying to stop our advance; they have pulled in reserves, which has benefited our defense forces in other areas, because it has become easier to work there,” he said. 

“Of course, it will be harder for us to advance further, but we will still advance,” he added.

Alongside his unit, Kholod said he joined Ukraine’s forces on day one of their surprise cross-border incursion into Russia and only left the Kursk region on Wednesday. 

Russian troops were shocked by Ukraine’s “rapid advance,” Kholod said, adding, “They were in tactical encounters and willingly surrendered to the defense forces.” 

“They are ready to die for our land for some reason, but for some reason, they are not ready to die for their own land,” he said.