Russia's defence ministry has said it is pulling back forces from two areas in Ukraine's Kharkiv region where a Ukrainian counter-offensive has made significant advances in the past week.
Ukrainian officials have claimed major gains against Russian forces in the country's north-east, saying vital supplies to the invaders had been cut off from the front-line hotspot.
The reports followed several days of apparent advances by Ukraine south of Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city, in what could become the biggest battlefield success for Ukrainian forces since they thwarted a Russian attempt to seize the capital of Kyiv at the start of the war nearly seven months ago.
