Ukrainian officials report early successes in efforts to retake territory from Russian invaders near Kyiv.
Vitali Klitschko, the capital’s mayor, said on Wednesday that Ukrainian forces had recaptured most of Irpin, a northwestern suburb of Kyiv.
Klitschko also said a battle was underway for the village of Liutizh, 20 miles north, and on Tuesday confirmed the retaking of Makariv, west of Kyiv.
The mayor spoke to reporters from a public park in the capital over the sound of gunfire nearby.
Ukrainian forces have also retaken areas north-east of Kyiv towards Chernihiv and Sumy, NBC news reported.
NBC reporter Richard Engel said he was briefed by two city officials in Kyiv.
“This, they say, is the biggest counter-offensive they have experienced since the beginning of the war,” Engel said. “So far, with this counter-offensive, there have been significant changes in the capital after just 48 hours.”
The site of a rocket explosion where a shopping center was located on March 23, 2022.Anastasia Vlasova/Getty Images
A Ukrainian soldier guards the area as Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko (right) speaks during a news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Vadim Ghirda/AP
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday the Ukrainians had launched another counteroffensive in the south to retake Kherson — the only major city to date to fall to the Russians. Details of this operation or its outcome were not yet clear.
With mail wires