The start of Kiev’s counteroffensive at the end of September saw the return of around 2,500 square kilometres of Russian-occupied land, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday.
Zelensky stated in his daily social media intervention, “This week alone, our soldiers liberated 776 square kilometres of land in the east of our country and 29 settlements, six of them in the Lugansk area.
Since the start of this military operation, 2,434 square kilometres of our land as well as 96 settlements have been freed, he continued.
In recent days, Kiev made a second significant advancement in the northeastern Kharkiv region as well as in the southern region close to the Kherson-controlled city.
Midway through September, Zelensky declared that the first counterattack by Ukrainian forces had succeeded in retaking 6,000 square kilometres from Russian forces.
For their part, Russian forces earlier on Friday declared control of fresh territories in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk, making it the first such announcement since the Kyiv counter-offensive gathered speed and weakened Russia’s military operations.
In this situation, Oleksiy Reznikov, the defence minister of Ukraine, urged Russian soldiers to lay down their guns and pledged to protect their “life and safety.
In a video speech to Russian soldiers, Putin stated, “You may still spare Russia from catastrophe and the Russian army from shame. We pledge life, safety, and justice to all those who decline to fight right away. We’ll see to it that everyone who gave criminal commands is brought to justice.
He continued, “You were duped and betrayed” by the Kremlin.
“It is easier for them to say that you died as heroes in a conflict with the fictitious NATO hordes.
While the NATO nations do provide us with weaponry, the Ukrainian soldiers are the ones who use them to beat you, according to the country’s defence minister.
The Ukrainian Minister of Defense emphasised that “Russian territory is not necessary for Ukrainian military; we have more than enough. We will return it.”
For weeks, Ukrainian forces conducted counterattacks in the south and east of the nation, allowing them to regain sizable portions of the territory.
Zelensky declares that 2,500 kilometres of Ukrainian territory has been liberated.
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