Setback for Putin as Ukraine retakes northeast in lightning blitz, Russian troops in retreat

Ukrainian troops have retaken a wide swath of territory from Russia, pushing all the way back to the northeastern border in some places as part of a lightning advance that forced Moscow to make a hasty retreat.

After a months-long war of attrition, Ukraine launched a major counter-offensive and took back a large swath of northeastern territory in a lightning blitz that forced occupying Russian forces into a hasty retreat.

In advances elsewhere, Ukraine's southern command said its forces had recaptured 500 square km of territory in the south, killing 59 Russian troops in the past 24 hours and destroying 20 pieces of equipment.

“From the beginning of September until today, our soldiers have already liberated more than 6,000 square kilometers of the territory of Ukraine — in the east and south. The movement of our troops continues,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his nightly address late Monday.

Zelenskyy has called on Western allies to speed up deliveries of weapons systems as Ukrainian troops move to consolidate control over the territories it has seized back from Russia.

1. Russia abandoned its main bastion in northeastern Ukraine, Kharkiv, on Saturday and pulled its troops back over the border, marking its worst defeat since the early days of the war. This paved the way for Ukrainian forces to recapture dozens of towns in the region.

2. Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Aretovych said Ukrainian forces were making progress in Donetsk and crossed the Siverskyi Donets River, threatening to retake key towns lost to Russian forces after weeks of heavy fighting in June and July.

3. As Ukrainian forces swept deeper into territory seized from fleeing Russian troops, joyful residents returned to former frontline villages after months. "I think everyone's in a great (mood). It's all over now. At least we hope it's all over," said 28-year-old Nastya, who had fled a village north of Kharkiv in April but returned last week after news of Ukrainian advances.