by Tom Balmforth
BAAKLIIA, Ukraine (Reuters) – Ukraine is focused on rescuing all territory occupied by invading Russian forces after they repulsed them in a swift counterattack in the country’s northeast, and there are signs that more US military assistance is on the way. to support the mission.
In a speech late Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that about 8,000 square kilometers have been cleared, apparently all in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
Zelenskiy said that “stabilization measures” have been completed in about half of this region and that stabilization measures are still ongoing in a liberated region of the same size.
Reuters was unable to immediately confirm the scale of Ukraine’s alleged success on the battlefield.
Since Moscow abandoned its main stronghold in the country’s northeast on Saturday, suffering its worst defeat since the early days of the war, Ukrainian troops have recaptured dozens of cities in a dramatic shift in battlefield momentum.
In Washington, the White House said the United States would likely announce a new package of military aid to Ukraine “in the coming days”. A US spokesman said Russian forces left defensive positions mainly around Kharkov, Ukraine’s second largest city.
Russian forces still control about a fifth of Ukrainian territory in the south and east, but Kyiv is currently on the offensive in both areas.
Speaking at the central square of Balakliia, a major military supply center seized by Ukrainian forces late last week, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said that 150,000 people had been liberated from Russian rule in the region.
Ukrainian flags were hoisted and large crowds gathered to collect aid packages. A mall was destroyed, but many buildings remained intact, with stores closed and sealed.
“The aim is to liberate the Kharkov region and beyond – all areas occupied by the Russian Federation,” Malyar said on the Balakliia road, 74km southeast of Kharkov.
(Additional reports by Pavel Polityuk, Olzhas Auyezov, Aleksandar Vasovic, Miranda Murray and other Reuters reporters)
source: Noticias
