Russia suffered a serious military setback when its forces had to withdraw from the Kharkiv region.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed Ukraine had recaptured 2,000 km of territory, which the Ukrainian army's commander-in-chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi clarified was 1,000 square kilometres.
The Russian reverse has not halted battles in and around Donetsk, Balakliia, Dnipro, Mykolaiv and Bakhmut.
IMAGE: Armoured fighting vehicles abandoned by Russian soldiers seen during a counteroffensive operation by the Ukrainian armed forces in Kharkiv. Photograph: Press service of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine/Handout/Reuters
IMAGE: Russian grenade launchers captured by the Ukrainian armed forces during a counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region. Photograph: Press service of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine/Handout/Reuters
IMAGE: Ammunition boxes seen near a house damaged by shelling in the village of Hrakove, recently liberated by Ukrainian armed forces, in the Kharkiv region. Photograph: Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/Reuters
IMAGE: A thermal power plant burns after being hit by a missile in Kharkiv. Photograph: Gleb Garanish/Reuters
IMAGE: Ukrainian firefighters put out a fire in a house after a Russian strike in Kharkiv. Photograph: Gleb Garanich/Reuters
IMAGE: A business and entertainment centre damaged by a Russian strike in Kharkiv. Photograph: Viktoriia Yakymenko/Reuters
IMAGE: A destroyed vehicle with the symbol 'Z', favoured by the Russian invaders, in the village of Hrakove. Photograph: Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/Reuters
IMAGE: Ukrainian soldiers during a flag hoisting ceremony in Balakliia. Photograph: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine/screen grab/Handout/Reuters
IMAGE: A building damaged by a missile strike is reflected in a window broken with shrapnel in central Dnipro. Photograph: Mykola Synelnykov/Reuters
IMAGE: A market destroyed by a missile strike in central Dnipro. Photograph: Mykola Synelnykov/Reuters
IMAGE: A man collects his belongings from his apartment in a building destroyed by a missile strike in Mykolaiv. Photograph: Umit Bektas/Reuters
IMAGE: A woman cleans the entrance of a residential building destroyed by a missile strike in Mykolaiv. Photograph: Umit Bektas/Reuters
IMAGE: The reconstructed Savur-Mohyla World War Two memorial before its official reopening in the Donetsk region. Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
IMAGE: Firefighters at the scene after the Martynov Palace of Culture was shelled in Bakhmut, Donetsk region. Photograph: Donetsk Regional Police/Handout/Reuters
IMAGE: Ukrainian soldiers ride a tank near Bakhmut. Photograph: Ammar Awad/Reuters
IMAGE: Ukrainian soldiers riding an amphibious armoured personnel carrier drive out of Bakhmut. Photograph: Ammar Awad/Reuters
IMAGE: Another Ukrainian armoured personnel carrier leaves Bakhmut. Photograph: Ammar Awad/Reuters
IMAGE: Ukrainian soldiers near Bakhmut. Photograph: Ammar Awad/Reuters
IMAGE: A soldier of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic maneuvers a Giatsint-B howitzer in the direction of Avdiivka outside Donetsk. Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
IMAGE: The soldiers ready the howitzer to fire at Ukrainian positions. Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
IMAGE: The Giatsint-B howitzer is fired. Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
IMAGE: A soldier of the pro-Russian Donetsk People's Republic walks past ammunition boxes outside Donetsk. Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
