Ukraine troops recapture towns near Kharkiv from Russian strongholds

Ukrainian soldiers inspected the wreckage of a Russian tank in the village of Rubizhne, recently recaptured from the invaders.

Kyiv said on Tuesday its forces had successfully pushed Russian troops out of several towns near the city of Kharkiv, part of a counter-offensive that Ukraine hopes could change the course of the war.

One soldier here boasted his team could keep delivering these sorts of results.

"The weapons are helping is a lot, the anti-tank ones. I wish the state would supply us with them more frequently. We use the weapons exclusively for specific targets. As you can see we have results. If there are weapons we will have more results."

Kyiv's counter-offensive here could be consequential: Ukrainian forces are moving into striking distance of the supply lines supporting Russia's main attack force in the south, where Moscow has focused on encircling and capturing the Donbass region.

Ukrainian forces have so far mostly held out.

Despite these setbacks, Russian President Vladimir has showed no signs of calling off or limiting what he's termed a 'special military operation.'

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said on Tuesday she believes Russia still plans for a long war.

"We assess President Putin is preparing for a prolonged conflict in Ukraine during which he still intends to achieve goals beyond the Donbas. [Edit] The uncertain nature of the battle, which is developing into a war of attrition, combined with the reality that Putin faces a mismatch between his ambitions and Russia's current conventional military capabilities, likely means the next few months could see us moving along a more unpredictable and potentially "

Demonstrating Moscow's reach, Russian missiles destroyed a shopping center and depot in the port city of Odesa.

The Ukrainian military said one person was killed and five were injured.

In Mariupol, Russian forces again pummeled the Azovstal steelworks on Tuesday, trying to capture the last bastion of Ukrainian resistance in the ruined city.

Scores of civilians have been evacuated from the steelworks in recent days, but an aide to Mariupol's mayor said at least 100 still remained inside.

Ukraine says tens of thousands of people have died under two months of Russian siege and bombardment.

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