This is Why Ukraine Captured Kharkiv So Quickly

The Ukrainian Kharkiv Offensive of 2022, which began on 5th September 2022 while the Kherson counteroffensive was in full-swing, was initially touted by western media as a game-changer as it saw the Ukrainian Armed Forces recapture at least 3,000 square kilometres of territory in just over a week. It was indeed a rapid advance. But other media outlets approached the success with some skepticism and caution as reports suggested that the Russians retreated with little to no casualties or equipment losses. Retired US Colonel Daniel Davis published an article in 19 Forty Five, stating that the Russians had deprioritised the Izyum-Slovyansk axis, in the Kharkiv region, to move troops to the Kherson bridgehead where Ukraine was also counterattacking. This caused Ukraine to incur grievous casualties in the South but Russia had thinned out its defences in the north-east Kharkiv region. But what's worse is that Ukraine, seeing no Russian defences and little Russian defending troops, decided to launch the Kharkiv offensive with civilian trucks and no armoured vehicles. This, while it allowed for rapid movement, also made them extremely vulnerable to drone and artillery attacks as they approached the Russian entrenched positions near the Luhansk border. In fact, some Ukrainians soldiers say that they took casualties and described the advance as hard and bitter as the Russians covered their retreat with artillery fire. In summary, it was not a panicked retreat by the Russians, as initially published by western media and instead, seemed to have been an orderly retreat which caused the Ukrainian armed forces to run out of steam and destroy their combat power. Was it therefore, a clever feigned retreat designed to draw the Ukrainians into favourable Russian defensive position to destroy their equipment and demilitarise them?