After achieving a string of victories in a swift counteroffensive, Ukrainian officials claim they are now targeting eastern Donbas towns.
In recent days, the Ukrainian army has recaptured large portions of occupied territory, forcing Russian troops to retreat.
President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that his soldiers were consolidating their control over 8,000 square kilometers of retaken area in the Kharkiv region.
Joe Biden, the vice president of the United States, stated that Ukraine has made “major” progress.
Mr. Biden stated that it was “obvious” that the advance was successful, but that the offensive “may be a long haul.”
While Russia still holds approximately one-fifth of Ukraine’s land, communities in the Donbas that fell early in the conflict are now threatened by Kiev’s advancing troops.
After failing to conquer towns across the country, including the capital Kyiv, Russia has been concentrating on the Donbas, some of which were already under the hands of separatists backed by Russia before Russia’s invasion this year.
Andrey Marochko, the military commander of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, one of the two provinces that comprise the Donbas, informed Russian official media that combat had approached the territory’s borders.
In addition, Serhiy Hayday, the exiled Ukrainian leader of the Luhansk area, reported that Ukrainian and Russian forces were engaged on the outskirts of Lyman.
“There is currently heavy fighting in Lyman, which I believe will continue for a few more days,” Mr. Hayday wrote in a Telegram.
Lyman fell to Russian forces at the end of May following a protracted fight. It is only 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Donetsk, the capital of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.
Its seizure was a major victory for Russian forces since it gave Moscow control over a crucial east-west highway.
In some regions, Ukrainian forces are rumored to have reached the Russian border, and according to Mr. Hayday, their conquest of Izyum and Kupiansk could cut off supplies to the Russian-held cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk.
As Ukrainian forces advance into the formerly controlled territory, claims of Russian war crimes have begun to surface.
During their occupation, locals in the town of Balakliya reported that Russian troops tortured residents at the police station and that others were electrocuted in captivity.
The Kremlin has acknowledged that Russian soldiers have withdrawn from several eastern towns but insists that this is not a retreat but rather a regrouping.
Moscow maintained on Monday that it would continue its assault “until all the initial objectives are fulfilled.”
Nonetheless, the speed of the Ukrainian advance appears to have caught Russian forces off guard, with claims that some of Moscow’s forces have abandoned their uniforms to blend in with locals.
In some locations, the withdrawing army left behind Russian professors who had relocated to Ukrainian towns and cities after Moscow assumed control.
Iryna Vereshchuk, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, has warned that an indeterminate number of those detained by Ukrainian authorities will be prosecuted.
During a 90-minute phone chat on Tuesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to resume negotiations with Ukraine as soon as feasible.
According to a German government summary of the call, Mr. Scholz asked Mr. Putin “to find a diplomatic solution based on a ceasefire, a total withdrawal of Russian troops, and respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine as quickly as feasible.”
