- Ukrainian forces have regained control of “the entire Kyiv region,” the deputy defense minister said on Saturday.
- It comes after a weeks-long onslaught by Russian forces bent on capturing the Ukrainian capital.
- Russia’s Defense Ministry announced last week that it would scale back its military attacks on Kyiv.
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Ukrainian forces have regained control of “the entire Kyiv region,” Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said on Saturday.
“The entire Kyiv region has been cleared of the invaders,” Malyar said in a post on Facebook, according to Reuters.
The Ukrainian capital has been under attack for weeks by Russian forces bent on capturing the city.
Last week, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced it would scale back attacks on Kyiv amid peace talks between the two countries. A Ukrainian MP said the move was an attempt to “save face” and that Russian forces had really been “kicked” out of the city, raising concerns about whether the Kremlin really wanted peace.
US leaders were also skeptical of Russia’s claims, stating that the threat to Kyiv may not be over.
“We believe this is a repositioning, not an actual retreat, and that we should all be prepared to watch for a major offensive against other areas of Ukraine,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.
On Friday, a senior Ukrainian official accused Russian troops of kidnapping Ukrainian children and using them as human shields as they relocated from Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Saturday that retreating Russian troops would leave mines around Ukrainian homes and “even the bodies of those killed,” creating a “catastrophic” situation for civilians, the Associated Press reported.
“Even in the areas that we retake after the fighting, a return to normal life as before is not possible,” said Zelenskyy. “We must wait until our country is demined, wait until we can assure you that there will be no more shelling.”