Ukrainian forces continue to gain ground with the counter-offensive in recent weeks in the territories occupied by the Russians.
To the south, in the Kherson region, the General Staff confirms the first strategic successes, with about 500 square kilometers of territory taken up. Defeats that convinced Vladimir Putin to oust the commander of the Western Military District , Roman Berdnikov, who had been appointed for just a couple of weeks.
As Ukrainians regain control of the eastern Kharkiv region, traces of months of abuse and devastation emerge: a chamber of horrors in Balakliya (a dismal basement where a chair with a hammer, duct tape and used gloves was abandoned) , the bodies of four civilians with signs of torture in Zaliznychne, grossly buried and found only thanks to the neighbors, at least a thousand victims of bombs and hardships in Izyum, where 80% of the buildings are destroyed.
The privileged target of what for the Ukrainians is a "cowardly revenge" seems to be Kharkiv itself, which has become the symbol of the Russian defeat . After the raid on the largest thermoelectric plant in the city, which left tens of thousands of people in the dark on Sunday evening, other blackouts continued throughout the day.
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12.20 pm - Kremlin warning to critics on the operation in Ukraine
The Kremlin today issued a warning to critics of the military operation in Ukraine. "As long as the critical points of view remain within the scope of the law they are pluralism, but the border is very blurred and we must be very careful here," said spokesman Dmitry Peskov quoted by Interfax.
