Ukraine lauds Kherson gains as Russian strike destroys building

A monument to Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko with the Russian flag flying in the background in the Russian-controlled city of Melitopol in the Zaporizhia region [File: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters]

Ukraine says it has recaptured swathes of territory from Russian troops in the country’s south as discontent has been mounting in Russia about the handling of the war.

Ukrainian forces have retaken more than 500sq km (195sq miles) of territory and dozens of settlements in the southern Kherson region alone since Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday.