The Latest Breaking News from Kharkiv

Ukrainian officials have claimed major gains against Russian forces in the country's north-east

The advance made by Ukrainian troops has taken Moscow by surprise, writes Kim Sengupta in Kyiv

Ukrainian troops have advanced 50km (31 miles) along a narrow front line and have retaken or surrounded several towns

Russian army pulls back thousands of troops and Kyiv takes control of vital town of Izium

Ukrainian officials claim to have taken Izium, Balakliya and Kupiansk — all of which have been controlled by Russian forces for months.

Electric pylons toppled, cables strewn across the ground; gutted houses and roads dotted with craters -- the village of Grakove in eastern Ukraine bears the scars of Ukraine's bitter counter-offensive. "It was frightening," said 61-year-old Anatoli Vasiliev, recalling this week's battle when Ukrainian troops recaptured Grakove from the Russians. "There…

Footage circulating online shows a bloodied soldier with a resemblance to Colonel General Andrei Sychevoi, a top Russian general believed to have been captured in a counteroffensive operation in Kharkiv

Western defense officials and analysts say Ukrainian forces have punched through Russian front lines south of the country’s second-largest city, taking thousands of square miles of territory and threatening to cut off Russian supply lines

Russian-installed administrator makes announcement after occupying forces pull out of two key towns in face of Ukrainian offensive