Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, on Wednesday, that his forces managed to regain control of several positions occupied by Russian forces in the Kharkiv region, AFP reported.
On Monday, Zelensky had expected to announce “big news” about the counter-offensive launched by Ukrainian forces in that region.
“We have good news this week from the Kharkiv region,” the Ukrainian president said on Wednesday morning, where there are “places where the Ukrainian flag” has returned to flying, without going into details.
At the end of the day, Zelensky confirmed the success of the military operation: “This is not the time to reveal the territory where the Ukrainian flag was raised again, but to thank the paratroopers for their courage and heroism,” he said in a video just released by the Ukrainian government.
I would also like to express my gratitude to all artillery regiments for their success in hitting the targets where the occupiers were concentrated.”
However, another video was posted on the Telegram network, in which it was described that “Ukrainian soldiers removed the red flag after the liberation of the territory.” The indicated area is near Balaklia in Kharkiv.
Ukraine launched a counterattack last week in the Russian-occupied areas of Kherson in the south of the country. In recent days, observers have reported an alleged advance of Ukrainian forces in the Kharkiv region, but these allegations could not be confirmed by independent sources.
The Kharkiv region has been partially occupied by the Russian army since it began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24. The eponymous city – the second largest in the country – was often the target of bombing, but Russian troops were not able to occupy it.
(Updated at 10:40 PM)
* With AFP
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