Ukrainian army says it has liberated 20 villages in the east of the country | Abroad

“Military units have been able to penetrate the enemy defenses for some 50 kilometers,” said Oleksii Gromov, a member of the general staff of the Ukrainian army. “During the operations, more than 20 cities and towns were liberated.” In total, according to the military leadership, more than 700 square kilometers have been reclaimed from the Russians, the Ukrainian news agency Interfax reported.

“The troops from Kiev were also able to break through enemy lines in the south and liberated several villages there, as well as in the Donbas (the east) where they reclaimed territory from the Russians in the Kramatorsk and Slovyansk zones,” Gromov said.

Russian troops said earlier in the day that they were evacuating women and children from the city of Kupyansk, a major transport hub in the Kharkiv region. “We are forced to move the population, at least women and children, to safety as the city is subjected to rocket attacks by Ukrainian military units,” said the head of the Russian-appointed military government, Vitali Ganchev, according to Russia’s Russian Federation. state news agency TASS.

Kupyansk is located at the intersection of several railway lines and main roads. It ranks as strategically important because it is on the supply route for Russian troops marching into the Donbass region.

According to Russian war correspondents, the Ukrainian army advanced about 20 kilometers in Russian-occupied territory near Balaklia, about 60 kilometers from Kupyansk.