President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed in his late-night address that the Ukrainian army had taken dozens of villages and towns from the Russian forces. He said, ” We have liberated over 1,000 square kilometres with dozens of villages and towns since Ukraine launched a countermeasure on August 29.
The Ukrainian military reported new victories in the counter-offensive against Russian soldiers along the Southern Bug River and in the Kharkiv region. More than 20 villages and towns set to be freed from Russian forces, and Ukrainian troops have advanced more than ten kilometres in some places.
The Russian side reported that every claim of Ukraine under the countermeasure is untrue. They are just trying to get more weapons from the west.
In a video posted on social media by President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian army declares that it has retaken control of the Kharkiv area town of Balakliia.
Zelenskyy said, “The flag of Ukraine flies over a free Ukrainian city under a free Ukrainian sky. since September 1, more than 1,000 square kilometres of our territory have been freed. All state efforts are focused on the front’s demands and our people’s safety. Within the defence operations, our warriors have already liberated dozens of settlements”.
According to Russian authorities in the Kherson region, Ukrainian soldiers who participated in the attempted invasion have been arrested. The Ukrainian side has already lost 3,000 soldiers and suffered heavy losses. According to the Russian side, only a few remote villages were taken.
Vasyl Nebenzya, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Security Council, stated, ” There is no chance of any breakthrough by the Ukrainian forces, and no counter-offensive was launched. They are running propaganda in order to beg for new weapons from the west. The principles of military strategy prohibit informing offensive plans to the general public on a global scale”.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Kyiv that the situation in Ukraine is at a “watershed” point. He said the US government would give $1 billion to acquire US weapons. Under the same scheme, Washington offers an additional $1 billion and $200 million to 18 nations threatened by Russian aggression. Bulgaria is among those 18 nations.