Ukrainian officials said on Friday that the country’s troops had pushed back Russian forces around Kyiv and had retaken control of some areas near the capital.
Russia said during negotiations on Tuesday that it would scale down operations in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions, both of which are in northern Ukraine, but officials in both regions say fighting has continued in some areas.
“Our troops are chasing them both to the northwest and northeast (of Kyiv), pushing the enemy away from Kyiv,” said Oleksiy Arestovych, a political adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Arestovych said Russia was also carrying out a partial troop rotation and sending some of its forces to fight in eastern Ukraine.
Later, local officials said the northern Kyiv region towns of Bucha and Ivankiv had been retaken by Ukrainian forces and Ukraine’s armed forces said the nearby town of Borodyanka had also been liberated, sharing a photo of Ukrainian troops they said was taken in the town.
“March 31 will go down in the history of our town… as the day of its liberation from Russian (forces),” Bucha Mayor Anatolii Fedoruk said in a video which appeared to be filmed outside the town hall.
Reuters said it was unable to verify immediately the information about recaptured settlements, military movements or fighting in the region.
