President denounces Russian missile strikes on Kharkiv civilian infrastructure, calling them a ‘sign of desperation’
Ukraine has retaken roughly 6,000 square km (2,400 square miles) of territory this month during its counteroffensive, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has claimed, as he urged foreign allies to swiftly supply more air defence systems.
The Ukraine president used his Monday night address to declare progress in the east and south, and that further gains were being made, as Kyiv pushed to take control of almost all of Kharkiv province.
The gains are a sliver of Ukraine’s overall land mass of about 600,000 square km, of which Russia has taken control of around a fifth, but US secretary of state Antony Blinken said on Monday that Ukrainian forces had made important progress.