Zelensky says Ukraine forces recaptured places near Kharkiv

KIEV

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that Kiev troops have recaptured from Russian forces several settlements in the Kharkiv region in the country’s northeast.

"This week we have good news from Kharkiv region," Zelensky said in his daily address, adding that "now is not the right time to name those settlements, where the Ukrainian flag has returned".

Observers have reported a breakthrough by Ukrainian forces in the Kharkiv region in recent days, with no official confirmation of the potential gains.

Ukraine has been waging a counter-offensive in the south of the country since last week, where it also claimed recapturing several villages.

Kharkiv region has been partly occupied by Russian troops since the start of the invasion launched on February 24.

The city of the same name -- the second largest in Ukraine -- is regularly targeted by deadly bombardments, but the Russian troops have never managed to seize it.