In the face of stiff Ukrainian resistance around its capital city, the Russian military lifted its apparent attempted siege of Kyiv and withdrew all of its forces from northern Ukraine and back into Belarusian or Russian territory about two weeks ago. Ukrainian forces followed in the wake of that withdrawal and have now reclaimed control| USSA News
The Russian push to the east may be part of a broader initiative to establish a Russian corridor along the Black Sea coastline up from Odessa through Mariupol to the Donbas area.