Here’s a look at the ground Ukraine won back with its counterattack

If you’ve just joined us, here’s what you need to know about the latest developments in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian Visit of President Volodymyr Zelensky newly released isyum: Ukrainian forces recaptured the northeastern Kharkiv region on Saturday. Zelensky thanked the military on Wednesday and held a minute’s silence to honor those who lost the war.

The liberation of Izium is a huge strategic blow to the Russian military offensive in the east, as it has become an important center for Moscow to launch southern attacks on the Donetsk and Kubyansk regions.

According to Zelensky, about 8,000 square kilometers (3,088 square miles) of territory has been liberated by Ukrainian forces so far this month. Most of this reclaimed land is in the country’s northeast, Sudel added.

However, the counterattack slows down: Ukraine liberates large swathes of territory from Russian occupation in the east, but presidential military adviser Oleksiy Aristovich said the country’s counter-offensive “has slowed down a bit because most of the Ukrainian forces are fighting to capture Liman, to clear the way for us in the Luhansk region…we will intensify our strikes and liberate new territories in a different way.” CNN reporter Becky Anderson said in an interview.

Liman, an important railway hub about 60 kilometers (37 miles) west of the strategically important Ukrainian city of Severodontsk.

The United States says Russian forces have withdrawn Back across the border: “We’ve seen a number of Russian forces, especially in the northeast, in the Kharkiv region, cross the border into Russia where they have withdrawn from the Ukrainian counterattack,” said the press secretary from the Pentagon, Brigadier General. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday. He added that Russian forces are still “present in large numbers in Ukraine.”

But Russia is trying to make gains in other parts of Ukraine: Ukrainian units managed to repel Russian attacks on the city of Bakhmut, says the Ukrainian Army’s General Staff, as Russian artillery and air forces bombed settlements near the lines directly across from Donetsk. The General Staff said there were also Russian mortars and tanks in the Zaporizhia region.

spoils claims: The military claimed that in the south, around the town of Polohi, Russian forces were also stealing private cars. And in Nova Kakhovka, Kherson region, “the Russians began to massively remove furniture and household appliances from temporarily abandoned settlements.” CNN cannot confirm the military’s claims, but there is ample evidence of looting in Kharkiv and other formerly occupied Russian regions.

Russian bombing killed at least two people and wounded six in Mykolaiv: The head of the province’s civil and military administration provided the update, adding that educational institutions, infrastructure and residential buildings were damaged in the southern port city near the Black Sea on Wednesday. Ukrainian officials say they have so far seized about 500 square kilometers of land in the south, along the border between Mykolaiv and Kherson.