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| Dimitar Dilkoff/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images |
As Ukraine’s military continues to take back Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine, outperforming expectations among leaders globally about its abilities before Russia’s invasion, ambitions are growing in Kyiv about what would define victory.
Meanwhile, the Kyiv government declared the end of its combat mission in Mariupol, concluding months of bloody battle that ended with a dramatic siege against fighters and civilians taking refuge at an abandoned steel plant. Evacuations from the steel factory had begun following a Russian government announcement Monday that it had agreed with Ukraine on the evacuation of wounded fighters.
Ukrainian forces in the northeastern region of Kharkiv have regained territory at the Russian border, the regional governor, Oleh Sinegubov, said Monday. Russian forces continued to shell cities in the eastern Donbas area and carried out a rare missile strike in western Ukraine.
Mr. Sinegubov said that even as Ukraine wins back territory seized by Russia in recent months, the situation across the region remains volatile. He warned civilians not to become complacent, adding that Russia is focusing on holding its positions and is preparing an offensive in the area of Izyum, a town southeast of the city of Kharkiv where it has established forward headquarters of its operations to conquer the Donbas.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has made clear in recent days that his country’s aim is to retake territory seized by Russian forces in 2014, including the Crimean Peninsula. Ukraine currently also controls less of Donbas than it did before Russia invaded the country on Feb. 24, according to U.S. and Ukrainian officials, but its recent battlefield gains have raised questions about how Russia might respond if Kyiv is able to regain territory once firmly under Moscow’s control. --->READ MORE HERE
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| EPA/OLEG PETRASYUK |
The State Department reopened the US embassy in Kyiv on Wednesday — more than three months after shutting down operations ahead of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that Ukraine’s stunning initial success in fighting off Moscow’s drive at the capital allowed for the embassy to reopen.
“Today we are officially resuming operations at the US Embassy in Kyiv,” Blinken said. “The Ukrainian people, with our security assistance, have defended their homeland in the face of Russia’s unconscionable invasion, and, as a result, the Stars and Stripes are flying over the Embassy once again.”
A State Department official told The Post that the US Marine Corps does not currently have members deployed to protect embassy staff — as is standard at US embassies elsewhere in the world.
“There is not [a Marine Security Guard] detachment presently in Kyiv, but the Department does plan to assign an MSG detachment at a later date,” the official said. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:
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