Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced his troops has retaken certain towns and villages from Russia in a bold and rapid advance beyond Russian lines.
President Zelenskiy announced on Wednesday that he had learned that his troops had freed several communities in the Kharkiv area after a counteroffensive that some Western experts believed saw Kyiv retake some 400 square kilometers (154 square miles) of land.
"This week we have good news from Kharkiv Oblast. All of you have most likely seen reports about the recent activities of Ukrainian defenders. And I think every (Ukrainian) citizen feels proud of our warriors," said Volodymyr Zelensky.
Due to Moscow's failure to capture it during the initial phases of its invasion on February 24, the Kharkiv area, which borders Russia, has been hit by Russian missiles for months. Kharkiv is the region's largest city.
Zelensky, although praising two airborne brigades and a mechanized brigade for what he called their valor, said it was too early to name the liberated towns and villages, indicating that the situation in the region was still unstable.
The gains would be a big boost for Kyiv, which wants to prove to its Western supporters it can change the facts on the ground by force and deserves sustained financial and weaponry assistance, as reported by Reuters.
As he and foreign defense ministers convened in Germany to discuss how to help Ukraine long-term, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Thursday that President Joe Biden approved an extra $675 million in weaponry for Kyiv.
More GMLRS (Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems), howitzers, ammo, armored ambulances, anti-tank systems, Humvees, and other gear are among the current package's contents.
Blinken Visits Ukraine
Following the announcement, CNBC reported that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Kyiv on Thursday on an unannounced visit. Since the Russia-Ukraine war started in February, it's Blinken's third visit to the nation.
During the visit, Blinken is meeting with different government officials. The visit was not announced ahead of time for security reasons. He met war-affected youngsters and families at a children's hospital Thursday.
Austin reaffirmed the United States' commitment to Ukraine and stated that it was there "for the long haul."
A State Department official said earlier that Blinken will announce Thursday a further $2 billion in military financing for Ukraine and 18 of its neighbors "including both many of our NATO allies as well as other regional security partners who are most potentially at risk for future Russian aggression."
Nuclear War, Still Possible Ukraine Military Officials Warn
In other updates, Ukraine's top military leaders said that it is not possible to rule out a "limited" nuclear war between Russia and the West, per The Washington Post.
General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and Lieutenant General Mykhailo Zabrodskyi, First Deputy Chairman of the National Security Defense, expressed such concern in an article published by Ukrinform.
"It is hard to imagine that even nuclear strikes will allow Russia to break Ukraine's will to resist. But the threat that will emerge for the whole of Europe cannot be ignored. The possibility of direct involvement of the world's leading powers in a "limited" nuclear conflict, bringing closer the prospect of World War 3, cannot be completely ruled out either," it read.
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