The kyiv army recovered some “2,000 kilometers of territory” in September, the Ukrainian president announced on Saturday, assuring that the Russian army is making a “good choice” to flee in the face of Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the northeast and south of the country.
“At the moment, since the beginning of September, about 2,000 kilometers of territory have been liberated,” said Volodymyr Zelensky.
“In recent days, the Russian military has shown the best of itself: its back. But despite everything, running away is a good option for them,” he added.
Previously, the Russian Defense Ministry had confirmed the withdrawal of its troops from two areas of the Kharkiv region, the second largest city in Ukraine, after last week’s counteroffensive.
“[As movimentações das tropas russas foram feitas] to achieve the stated goals of the special military operation to liberate Donbass,” Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov was quoted as saying by the Associated Press (AP) news agency.
The Russian statements come on the same day that Ukrainian forces announced that they had recaptured the city of Kupiansk in eastern Ukraine, a town 120 kilometers from Kharkiv, which has been under the control of the Russian army for several months, the news agency reported. AFP. emphasizing the strategic importance of the city in supplying the Russian battle lines.
The new major breakthrough claimed by Ukrainian forces comes after kyiv claimed to have regained control of 30 towns in the Kharkiv area on the Russian border in recent days.
The February 24 offensive in Ukraine has already caused the flight of nearly 13 million people -more than six million internally displaced persons and almost seven million to neighboring countries-, according to the latest UN figures, which catalog this crisis of refugees as the worst in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion was condemned by the international community at large, which has responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Russia in everything from banking to energy to sports.
The UN presented as confirmed 5,587 civilian deaths and 7,890 wounded, stressing that the real figures are much higher and will only be known at the end of the conflict.
Source: TSF
