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It could be a stage victory, maybe even usher in a new phase in the war: The Ukrainian army has recaptured eight small towns in the north and north-east of the city of Kharkiv, including Tscherkassy Tyschky, Rusky Tyschky and Bayrak.
The village of Rubishne was also liberated, and the residents are relieved that the Russian troops are gone.
Halyna Kitsenko, villager: »It was a bad life, no food, no electricity, we were just cut off.«
In many places, traces of failed escape attempts can be seen.
Roman Hryschchenko, Army Commander: »It was terrible. Our peaceful compatriots wanted to flee from here with their children. But they came under machine gun fire, a car was hit by a tank, it's hard to say what kind. Sadly, children must have been among the many victims.”
The achievements of the Ukrainian army may be related to arms deliveries from abroad.
This footage, released by the Ukrainian army on Tuesday, is said to show the destruction of a state-of-the-art Russian tank - by what is said to be a Swedish anti-tank weapon.
This information cannot be verified.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the courage of the Ukrainian troops in his daily video message.
Volodymyr Zelenskyj, President of Ukraine: »The occupiers are being pushed back step by step from Kharkiv. I am grateful to all our defenders. They hold their ground and display truly superhuman strength in driving off the attackers - once the second strongest army in the world.«
The situation is different in the south-east: here the Russian troops are advancing bit by bit.
According to Ukrainian authorities, there are attacks on private houses, agricultural facilities and electricity supply.
The wounded and traumatized from the front, a few kilometers away, arrive at the hospital in Bakmut near Donetsk.
Elena Bulakthina, paramedic from Canada: »Some people cry and ask me: Why am I alive? I am 89 years old, all my neighbors are dead and they were young. What can I say? I talked to many, some fled Donbass from the war. But the war found them.«
An end to the war and suffering is not in sight: the US secret services assume that Russia is preparing for a long conflict - even a Russian victory in the Donbass might not mean the end of the war, they said.
