lesser extent in the south down here. they ve gained even more ground in offensives. president zelenskyy claims they have recaptured some 6,000 square kilometers of territory. it s about 2,300 square miles since the beginning of the month. this is impossible to verify, but it is even more ground than the russians actually gained in the last several months and it happened fast. i want to show you this animation here, if we can zoom in. you can see the yellow there, how quickly ukrainian troops have recaptured territory that had been occupied by the russians. now russia is responding. ukrainian officials say russian strikes knocked out power in the region. in donetsk ukrainian forces also recaptured a town there after forces crossed the donetsk river. this here is the aftermath. the capture will further complicate any attempt by the remaining russian-backed forces to withdraw, and last night secretary of state tony blinken called the recent gains by ukrainians encouraging.
they would be surrounded and captured, though they re leaving behind a trail of destruction. cnn s sam kiley is live in kharkiv, ukraine, with an exclusive look at what remains there now. he s the first international correspondent inside izyum since the liberation of that city. sam, tell us what you re seeing. well, brianna, it has been an extraordinary campaign by the ukrainians, opening with a counteroffensive in the south, possibly drawing off russian troops there, and now president zelenskyy saying they ve captured 6,000 square kilometers. military forces saying they ve liberated the whole of kharkiv. this is what it looked like in the strategically vital city of izyum. it s opiniobeen a stunning a. ukraine s route of russian invaders has recaptured 6,000 kilometers. this land was held by russia just a few days ago. now it s providing a rich harvest to ukraine s army of abandoned russian equipment. the russian z symbol painted over, the guns ready to kill russians.