Sept 13,2022:Ukrainian troops have seized even more territory from Russian forces as they continue their counter-offensive, the country’s president has said.
Volodymyr Zelensky said troops have now retaken more than 6,000 sq km (2,317 sq miles) from Russian control since September, in the east and the south.
Russia has admitted losing key cities in the north-eastern Kharkiv region, in what is seen by some military experts as a potential breakthrough in the war.
Moscow describes its troop withdrawal in recent days as a “regrouping” with the aim of focusing on the Luhansk and Donetsk regions in Ukraine’s east.
That claim has been ridiculed even in Russia, with many social media users there describing the stated pull-out as “shameful”.
Speaking to the BBC on Monday evening, Mason Clark of the US-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said this was “a complete rout” of the Russian troops, who were forced to leave lots of equipment behind.
And the BBC’s James Waterhouse said it was the most significant Russian military retreat since its failed campaign near the capital Kyiv in late March.
