• Ukraine’s military claims a quick counteroffensive.
• Its soldiers had retaken nearly 3,000 sq km.
• Kyiv’s soldiers will have tripled their claimed gains.

Ukraine’s military claims that following a quick counteroffensive in the east of the country, its soldiers had retaken nearly 3,000 sq km (1,158 sq miles).

If the impressive advance is true, Kyiv’s soldiers will have tripled their claimed gains in just over 48 hours.

President Zelensky stated the area to be 1,000 sq km on Thursday night and 2,000 sq km on Saturday night.

Journalists have been barred access to the front lines, and the BBC is unable to confirm the Ukrainian figures.

Ukrainian troops entered the crucial Russian-held supply towns of Izyum and Kupiansk during the eastern counterattack.

However, violence has persisted outside of those towns, according to UK defense officials. A handful of communities near Izyum are still in Ukrainian forces’ control, according to officials in Kyiv.

The Russian defence ministry confirmed that its forces had left Kupiansk and Izyum, saying that this would let them to “regroup” in areas controlled by separatists backed by Moscow.

Additionally, the Russian ministry acknowledged the removal of forces from Balaklyia, a third significant town, in order to “bolster efforts” on the Donetsk front. On Friday, Ukrainian forces entered the town.

At the same time, the leader of the Russia-installed government in Kharkiv suggested that its citizens leave for Russia in order to “save lives.”

Unverified social media video appeared to show long traffic lines forming at border crossings.

Additionally, the Russian border region of Belgorod’s governor announced that those waiting in line will have access to mobile food, heating, and medical care.

Not only have the Russians been caught off guard by the counterattack’s rapidity, but several Ukrainians have also been taken aback.

However, Russians still control about 5% of the nation, and few people think that the war will finish quickly.

If maintained, the Ukrainian advances would mark the largest shift in the lines since Russia retreated from regions around Kiev in April.

The loss of Izyum, which Moscow spent almost a month trying to conquer at the outset of the war, would be considered as a severe embarrassment for

President Vladimir Putin. Izyum served as Russia’s key eastern supply base.

The advance, in the opinion of one military analyst, is the first time that entire Russian regiments have been lost since World War Two.

The advances will also be considered as evidence that Ukraine’s army is capable of retaking occupied land, which is important as Kyiv continues to request military assistance from its financially strapped Western partners.

Dmytro Kuleba, the foreign minister of Ukraine, claimed that recent events demonstrated that the country’s soldiers might win the conflict more quickly with more Western weapons.

The last reactor at the nuclear power plant in Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia has reportedly been shut down and is no longer producing electricity, according to Ukraine’s energy authority Energoatom.

When external power was restored, the reactor, which had been producing energy for the plant internally for three days, was shut down.

According to the Ukrainian operator, it is crucial that the shelling of the power connections linking the station to the national grid be stopped in order to avoid a crisis.

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