Russia ‘likely to concede area half the size of Wales’ in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s claim that his forces have regained 6,000 square km (more than 2,300 square miles) this month was supported by Western intelligence.

A Ukrainian soldier smiles from a military vehicle in the freed territory in the Kharkiv region (Kostiantyn Liberov/AP)

Russia is likely to continue its surprise retreat from swathes of Ukraine until Kyiv’s forces recapture an area nearly half the size of Wales, Western officials believe.

They suspect Russian President Vladimir Putin’s troops will not try to seize back the lost land around the Kharkiv area and will instead consolidate their firepower in the south.