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Ukraine marches farther into liberated lands, separatist calls for urgent referendum

Ukraine Izium damaged homes

Izium, Ukraine Reuters Ukraine said its troops have marched farther east into territory recently abandoned by Russia, paving the way for a potential assault on Moscow’s occupation forces in the Donbas region as Kyiv seeks more Western arms.  In a sign of nervousness from a Moscow-backed administration in Donbas about the success of Ukraine’s recent […]

“Like Chernobyl”: Wary Ukrainians return to ruined towns after Russian retreat

Ukraine Balakliia returnees2

Balakliia, Ukraine Reuters Joy, trepidation and grief flickered across the face of Nataliia Yelistratova as she sat next to her husband on a special train back to their home town of Balakliia that Ukraine recaptured last week after six months of Russian occupation.  The town – which had a population of 27,000 before the war – is one […]

Ukraine leader promises victory during frontline town visit as Russia digs in

Ukraine Izium Volodymyr Zelenskiy

Izium, Ukraine Reuters President Volodymyr Zelenskiy promised he would lead Ukraine to victory in its war against Russia as he visited recaptured towns on Wednesday, while pro-Russian officials claimed to have halted Kyiv’s forces for now.  Russian forces suffered a stunning reversal this month after Ukrainian troops made a rapid armoured thrust in the north-eastern […]

In liberated Ukraine town, locals sob with relief, relate harrowing accounts

Ukraine Balakliia1

Balakliia, Ukraine Reuters The guns had gone quiet after three days of fighting in the battle-scarred north-east Ukrainian town of Balakliia, but Mariya Tymofiyeva said it was only when she saw Ukrainian soldiers that it hit her that over six months of Russian occupation had ended.  “I was walking away….when I saw an armoured personnel […]

Ukraine vows to drive out Russian forces as US readies more military aid

Ukraine Zolochiv mines

Balakliia, Ukraine Reuters Ukraine has set its sights on freeing all territory occupied by invading Russian forces after driving them back in a speedy counter-offensive in the north-east and there are indications of more US military aid on the way to back Ukraine’s mission. In an evening address, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said around 8,000 square […]

Russia loses control of key north-east towns as Ukrainian troops advance

Ukraine Vasylenkove flag

Kyiv/Hrakove, Ukraine Reuters Moscow abandoned its main bastion in north-eastern Ukraine on Saturday, in a sudden collapse of one of the war’s principal front lines after Ukrainian forces made a rapid advance. The swift fall of Izium in Kharkiv province was Moscow’s worst defeat since its troops were forced back from the capital Kyiv in […]

Ukraine claims to have taken back dozens of communities as Blinken visits

Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Antony Blinken

Kyiv, Ukraine Reuters Ukraine on Thursday hailed a lightning counter-offensive it said had recaptured swathes of its territory in the east and south, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the country to pledge further aid. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address that Kyiv’s forces had “liberated dozens of settlements” and […]

Ukraine says it downs Russian missiles, UN pushes for nuclear plant’s safety

Ukraine Kharkiv shelled residential building

Kyiv, Ukraine/Vienna, Austria Reuters Ukrainian forces shot down five Russian cruise missiles on Tuesday, most of them in the south, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, but he made no mention of a new military success in the east hinted at by officials earlier. “This morning alone, five of six Russian X-101 missiles were downed,” Zelenskiy said […]