ANKARA: Russian troops have been pushed back in certain areas for more than 70 kilometers from the capital, Kyiv, thanks to the “successful operations” of Ukrainian forces, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry spokesman said Saturday.
“In some areas, the units of the Russian Armed Forces are 35 kilometers (around 22 miles) away from Kyiv,“ Anadolu Agency reported Oleksandr Motuzyanyk told reporters at a news conference regarding the operational situation on the frontlines.
However, Motuzyanyk said officials “don’t see at the moment any withdrawal of Russian troops from the certain areas of Kyiv.”
He noted that Ukrainians, not only within the country but “from the whole world have joined their efforts.”
“Currently, we see a lot of Ukrainian citizens are coming back to Ukraine in order to join the ranks of defenders of Ukraine,“ he said.
According to Anadolu’s reports, Motuzyanyk said Ukraine managed to “successfully carry out the mobilisation,“ noting that his country is currently “at the second stage of the mobilisation.”
“We have brought the additional reserves of more than 100,000 people. Currently, the whole country joined the efforts against the aggressor,“ he said.
He also claimed that since the beginning of the war on Feb 24, Ukrainian forces killed 16,400 “manpower” of Russian forces, as well as destroyed among others 575 tanks, 1,640 armored fighting vehicles, 293 artillery systems, 91 multiple-launch rocket systems, 51 air defense systems, 117 aircraft and 127 helicopters.
The Russia-Ukraine war has met international outrage, with the EU, US and UK, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.
At least 1,081 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 1,707 injured, according to UN estimates, while cautioning that the true figure is likely far higher.
More than 3.7 million Ukrainians have also fled to neighboring countries, including over 2 million to Poland, with millions more displaced inside Ukraine, according to the UN refugee agency.-Bernama
