Zelensky: Ukraine has liberated more than 1,000 square kilometers since September 1

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have liberated dozens of settlements on the territory of more than a thousand square kilometers (about 385 square miles) since the beginning of autumn. They’ve accomplished this through a large-scale counteroffensive in the south and east of the country.

In a video address, he said, “As part of the ongoing defense operations, our heroes have already liberated dozens of settlements. And today this movement has continued, there are new results. In total, since September 1, more than a thousand square kilometers of our territory have been liberated. Thanks to all who ensured this!”

Earlier, Zelensky's Telegram channel published a video in which the Ukrainian military announces that they have taken control of the city of Balakliia in the Kharkiv region. "Everything is in its place. The flag of Ukraine in a free Ukrainian city under a free Ukrainian sky!" the caption reads.

On September 9, 2022, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on the counteroffensive in Balakliia for the first time.

“Defense forces are conducting a successful counteroffensive in the Kharkiv direction. Thanks to the skillful and well-coordinated actions of the AFU, with the support of the local population, they have advanced almost 50 kilometers (about 30 miles) in three days. According to intelligence, various enemy units suffered significant losses. The occupiers are trying to evacuate wounded personnel and damaged equipment near the settlements of Olkhovatka and Borodoyarske,” the General Staff said wrote.

Both settlements named are in the Balakliia district of the Kharkiv region.

The Russian Defense Ministry did not report on the advance of Ukrainian troops in Kharkiv region. The ministry's September 8 report only mentions the destruction of a Ukrainian missile and artillery arms and ammunition depot near Balakliia.

At the same time, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya, speaking at a meeting of the UN Security Council, said that Ukraine was not conducting any counterattack. "The fields near Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia and the forests near Kharkiv are strewn with thousands of corpses of Ukrainian soldiers, who were sent to certain death, and who were not allowed to retreat by barrier troops. Several peripheral villages were taken, and of course no breakthrough is even close," he claims.

It is difficult to promptly verify wartime information spread by the official representatives of the parties to the conflict.