Ukraine’s forces retook the Kyiv region and northern areas of the country Saturday after Russian troops pulled out, leaving behind landmines and a trail of bodies, per Ukrainian officials and multiple reports.
Driving the news: Russia’s military was regrouping for fights in eastern Ukraine, as Ukrainian troops regained complete control of the capital region for the first time since Putin’s forces began their invasion on Feb. 24, Reuters notes.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a televised address late Wednesday he was aware that Russian forces had “reserves to increase pressure in the east,” but Ukraine was “strengthening our defenses” in the region and in Donbas in particular.
Situation report: Zelensky said Russian forces were shelling as they left, but Ukrainian forces had retaken the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions.
Meanwhile, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said in an intelligence update late Saturday that there had been a “concentration of air activity” toward southeastern Ukraine in the past week, “likely a result of Russia refocusing its military operations in this area.
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“Despite ongoing Russian efforts to diminish Ukrainian air defence capability, Ukraine continues to provide a significant challenge to Russian Air and Missile operations. As a result, Russian aircraft are still vulnerable to short and medium range air defence systems,” the defense ministry said.
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“Russia’s inability to find and destroy air defence systems has seriously hampered their efforts to gain broad control of the air, which in turn has significantly affected their ability to support the advance of their ground forces on a number of fronts,” the report added.
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