Ukrainian armed forces have liberated about 2.000 square kilometers of territory since the counter-offensive against Russia began earlier this month.
This was said by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, in a video address, as reported by Reuters.
A Russian official in the occupied part of the Kharkiv region, Vitaly Ganchev, recommended that all residents of the area be evacuated to Russia "in order to save their lives," according to the Russian state news agency TASS, as reported by Reuters.
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The Ukrainian authorities announced today that the army advanced several tens of kilometers in several areas on the southern front, in the areas that the Russian army occupied at the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine.
"Our soldiers are advancing on the front lines in the south in several areas ranging from two to several tens of kilometers," said Natalia Gumenyuk, a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian military command in the south.
Russia will withdraw its forces from the Ukrainian cities of Balaklia and Izjum, the state news agency TASS reported the announcement of the Ministry of Defense of Russia.
"In order to achieve the stated goals of the special military operation to liberate Donbass (a region in eastern Ukraine), it was decided to regroup Russian troops stationed in the Balaklia and Izum regions," said Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.
Ukrainian forces said they had entered the eastern city of Kupyansk, a key location in the hands of the Russian military for several months.
Ukrainian special forces posted photos on social networks showing their officers "in Kupyansk, which was and will always be Ukrainian."
The footage shows a small number of soldiers in camouflage uniforms with automatic weapons gathered around an armored vehicle.
A regional official posted a photo of Ukrainian soldiers in the city of 27.000 people, along with the text - "Kupyansk is Ukraine".
The new advance by Ukrainian forces comes as Kiev said it had regained control of 30 locations in the Kharkiv region, which borders Russia, in recent days.
Kupyansk, located about 120 kilometers southeast of Kharkiv, fell to the Russians less than a week after the start of the Russian offensive on Ukraine on February 24.
The return of Ukrainian control over the city could pose a serious problem for Moscow, as the city lies on supply routes for Russian forces in other frontline positions.
The Russian Air Force destroyed the Ukrainian army's monitoring radar station in the Mykolaiv region and six weapons and missile depots in the eastern and southeastern parts of Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said, citing TASS.
Russian air defense systems have shot down 13 Ukrainian drones and destroyed five HIMARS missiles in the air, Reuters reports the writing of the Russian state news agency TASS.
Western officials and analysts said they were confident Ukraine had breached Russian front lines south of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, seized thousands of square kilometers of territory and threatened to cut off Russian supply lines.
The British Ministry of Defense stated in an online briefing this morning that it believes the Ukrainians have advanced as much as 50 kilometers on the line south of Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine.
Advances seem to have been made around Izjum, which has long been in the center of the Russian front line and where heavy artillery and other fighting took place. The British stated that the Russian forces around Izjum were increasingly isolated.
"Russian forces appear to have been taken by surprise. The sector was held thinly manned and Ukrainian units captured or surrounded several towns," the British military said.
The British added that the nearby city of Kupyansk also appeared to be under pressure from Ukrainian forces and that its loss would greatly affect Russian supply lines in the area.
A video circulating on social media appears to show Ukrainian soldiers in front of the main government building in Kupyansk, which is about 73 kilometers north of Izjum.
The Ukrainian army has not yet confirmed that it has entered the city, but reports of it have emerged after several days of Ukrainian advances south of Kharkiv.
Moscow did not immediately confirm or comment on the claims by Ukraine and its Western allies.
German Foreign Minister Analena Berbock arrived in Kyiv today for an unannounced visit to show that Ukraine "can count" on Berlin's support, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.
Germany will continue to support Kiev "as long as necessary, with arms deliveries, and humanitarian and financial support," Berbok said, according to the ministry's statement.
This is her second visit to Kyiv since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February.
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