According to information from Kyiv, the advance of the Ukrainian army in the east of the country continues. "The liberation of towns under Russian occupation in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions continues," the Ukrainian General Staff said in its situation report on Monday.

A total of more than 20 towns have been recaptured within the last 24 hours. The Russian troops have now also left Welykyj Burluk and Dvorichna. Both places are in the north of the Kharkiv region.

Under pressure from Ukrainian counter-offensives, Russia's defense ministry announced the withdrawal of its own troops from the Kharkiv region over the weekend, more than six months after the start of the war. The withdrawal was officially justified with a strategic "regrouping" of the units.

LONDON: Russians in Ukraine need to focus on defence

According to British experts, the Russian troops in Ukraine must now concentrate largely on defending against the Ukrainian counter-offensive. This emerges from the daily intelligence update from the Ministry of Defense in London on Monday. The quick successes of the Ukrainian defenders would have "considerable consequences" for the general operational planning of the Russians. "The already limited trust that the deployed troops have in the Russian military leadership is likely to continue to wane," the statement said on Twitter.

After the Russian withdrawal from the entire Kharkiv region west of the Oskil River, only a few "nests of resistance" were left there, according to the British assessment. "As of Wednesday, Ukraine has reclaimed an area at least twice the size of Greater London."

In the south, near Cherson, Russia is having trouble getting enough supplies across the Dnipro River to the front. An improvised floating bridge, construction of which began two weeks ago, is still unfinished. "Ukrainian long-range artillery is now likely to hit Dnipro crossings so frequently that Russia cannot repair the road bridges," the statement continued.

Zelenskyi announces capture of Izyum

The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj had already announced in the evening that he would take the strategically important city of Izyum, which had previously been contested. Videos of Ukrainian soldiers hoisting the country's flag emerged from the small town 140 kilometers southeast of Kharkiv.

According to the Ukrainian General Staff, Russian troops have also left the small town of Svatove in the Luhansk region. According to the situation report, only the separatist militias are still deployed there. This information cannot be verified independently.