Ukraine claims recapturing dozens of towns, villages from Russia
Ukraine's president alleges that Kiev has recaptured dozens of towns and villages lying in the country's south from Russian control, while at the same time warning that Moscow might be feigning partial defeat.
"Today, we have good news from the south," Volodymyr Zelensky said in his daily address on Thursday.
"The number of Ukrainian flags returning to their rightful place as part of the ongoing defense operation is already dozens," he added, claiming that as many as 41 settlements had fallen back under Ukrainian control.
Russia, for its part, said it had made the "difficult decision" to pull forces from Kherson, the capital of a region of the same name.
This is while, back in September, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the region had been annexed to the Russian Federation following a referendum that had been held there alongside similar votes in three other Ukrainian regions. Moscow has been waging a war against Ukraine since February to defend its Russian-speaking population in the face of persecution by Kiev.
Ukrainian officials, including Zelensky have, at the same time, stopped short of banking too heavily on Kherson's return to the mainland, saying Russia was unlikely to leave the city without a fight.
"At this point, we can't confirm or deny information about the retreat of Russian troops from Kherson," said Oleksiy Gromov, from the Ukrainian armed forces' general staff.
Zelensky, meanwhile, did not rule out holding dialog with Russia, alleging, "We have to go all the way on the battlefield and through diplomacy so that all over our land, along our entire internationally recognized border, our flags -- Ukrainian flags -- are installed."
Western media outlets claimed that he had been facing pressure from Western capitals to give diplomacy a chance.
Earlier, top US general Mark Milley said that military victory may not be possible in the war. "There's... an opportunity here, a window of opportunity for negotiation," he said.
Washington, however, has not either ceased or lessened its sustained and exponentially increasing flow of arms to Kiev.
Separately on Thursday, the United States said it was sending a fresh $400-million-worth military aid package to Ukraine within days of announcing it would spend the exact same amount to fund Kiev-headed tanks.
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