Ukraine recaptures territory from Russian forces in Kharkiv

Ukraine's armed forces have recaptured large swaths of territory and are making "significant gains" against Russia's occupation of the northwest region of Kharkiv, the British defense ministry said in an intelligence briefing Sunday.

Russian forces have likely “withdrawn units from the area,” but fighting continues around the strategically important cities of Kupiansk and Izyum, it said in its daily update on the war in Ukraine, posted to Twitter.

Ukraine's government claims Russia's retreat from Kharkiv is a major turning point in the six-month-old conflict, as thousands of Russian soldiers abandoned their weapons and ammunition stockpiles to flee the Ukrainian advance, they said.

Some Western experts have described the withdrawal as the worst defeat for Russian forces since they were forced back from the capital, Kyiv, in March.

Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya and a loyal ally to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said in a Telegram post Sunday that "mistakes were made" by the Russian defense ministry in its strategy. "If changes are not made today or tomorrow in the strategy of conducting a special operation, I will have to contact the leadership of the Ministry of Defense," he added.