Ukraine targets east after rapid counter-offensive

 Kharkiv offensive: Ukraine targets east after rapid counter-offensive

Ukrainian officials say they are targeting towns in the eastern Donbas region after making a series of gains in a rapid counter-offensive.

In recent days Ukraine's army reclaimed swathes of occupied territory, forcing Russian troops to retreat.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said his forces were fortifying their hold over 8,000 sq km (3,088 sq miles) of retaken territory in the Kharkiv region.

US President Joe Biden said Ukraine had made "significant" gains.

Mr Biden said it was "clear" that the advance had enjoyed success, but cautioned that the offensive "could be a long haul".

While Russia still controls around a fifth of Ukraine's territory, towns in the Donbas that fell early in the war are now under threat from Kyiv's advancing forces.

After failing to capture cities across the country, including the capital Kyiv, Russia has been focusing on the Donbas, parts of which were already under the control of Russian-backed rebels before Russia launched its invasion this year.

Andrey Marochko, military commander of the the self-declared Luhansk People's Republic - one of two provinces that make up the Donbas - told Russian state media that fighting had reached the borders of the territory.

And Serhiy Hayday, the exiled Ukrainian head of the Luhansk region, said Ukrainian forces were engaging Russian troops on the outskirts of Lyman.

"There are fierce battles in Lyman now, which I think will last a few more days," Mr Hayday said in a Telegram post.

FULL ARTICLE AT: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62899474