Kiev authorities said more than 30 Ukrainian towns and villages in the Kiev region had returned to Ukrainian control after Russia this week announced it was cutting operations around the capital to focus on fighting in eastern Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russian troops of bombing areas in the north of the country as a counteroffensive against them or retreat.
“In the northern part of our country, the occupiers are leaving. This is happening slowly, but noticeably. In some places they are being forced out by hostilities. In other places, they themselves leave their positions. There are many dangers. The second thing is that they mine all this territory. They mine houses, equipment, even bodies there are many people killed. There are many dangers. We are moving forward, we are moving carefully, and everyone who returns to this territory must also be very careful,” he said.
The official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Igor Konashenkov, said that since the beginning of the Moscow special operation, the Russian armed forces have destroyed 381 drones, 1,888 tanks and 205 rocket launchers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.