Ukraine ‘pushes Russia back to border’ after retaking ‘village after village’

The turn of events and all-important reversal of initiative was backed up by international observers who warned of dire times ahead for Russian troops

Ukrainian firefighters battle flames after a Russian rocket attack hit an electric power station in Kharkiv (Kostiantyn Liberov/AP)

Ukraine has kept the counter-offensive momentum in its war against Russia going, saying it has liberated village after village – and claiming that in one region it pushed the invaders back right up to the border.

“In some areas of the front, our defenders reached the state border with the Russian Federation,” said the regional governor of the north-east Kharkiv region, Oleh Syniehubov.