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Ukraine has recaptured its first village in Luhansk, a region that Russian forces took five months to bomb into submission and conquer. Belogorovka is the latest prize for Ukraine’s continuing counter-offensive pushing Russia away from the second city of Kharkiv. The village lies only a dozen or so miles from the towns of Lysychansk and Severdonestsk, key regional economic centres in the wider Donbas region that the Kremlin has promised to defend at all costs. The village also lies 45 miles east of the Oskil River, where Russian forces fled after a Ukrainian offensive around Kharkiv recaptured an area the...

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed there would be no let-up in Ukraine's fight to regain its territory as Kyiv said its troops had crossed a major river, paving the way for an assault on Russia's occupation forces in the eastern Donbas region. Reflecting the dramatic change in momentum since Ukrainian forces routed Russian troops earlier this month in the northeast, U.S. President Joe Biden offered his strongest prediction so far that the Ukraine would win the war. (snip) Crossing the Oskil River is another important milestone in Ukraine's counter-offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region. The river flows south into the Siversky...

A Russian missile struck close to a nuclear power plant Monday in southern Ukraine without damaging the three reactors but hit other industrial equipment in what Ukrainian authorities denounced as an act of “nuclear terrorism.” The missile made impact within 300 meters (328 yards) of the reactors at the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant, blasting a crater 2 meters (6 1/2 feet) deep and 4 meters (13 feet) across, according to Ukrainian nuclear operator Energoatom. The reactors were operating normally and no staff members were injured, the agency said. But the proximity of the strike renewed fears the nearly 7-month-long...

In a pine forest at the edge of Izyum the stench of death filled the air as a mass exhumation got under way. The earth is giving up its secrets. Ukrainian officials believe war crimes have been committed, which they are determined to document. Around 100 Ukrainian emergency service workers wearing blue plastic coverings dug into the earth, opening makeshift graves. They are trying to establish the cause of death of hundreds of people buried in a forest at the edge of the city, recently liberated by advancing Ukrainian forces. Izyum, invaded in April, was used by Russia as a...

In a dank basement behind the local supermarket, metal bars cordon off a corner of the room to form a large cell. Dirty sleeping bags and duvets show three sleeping spots on top of sheets of Styrofoam for insulation from the damp earth floor. In the corner, two black buckets served as toilets. A few meters (yards) outside the barred cell, three dilapidated chairs stand around a table, cigarette butts and empty husks of pumpkin seeds littering the floor around them. Ukrainian authorities say this was a makeshift prison where Russian forces abused detainees before Ukrainian troops swept through the...

Russia will continue to defend the Luhansk region in Eastern Ukraine, but it is unclear whether its forces have sufficient reserves or adequate morale to prevail, British defense officials said Saturday. Ukraine continues its counteroffensive in the north-east, while Russian troops have established a defensive line along the Luhansk border, according to the British Ministry of Defense. "Any substantial loss of territory in Luhansk will unambiguously undermine Russia's strategy," the MOD said. The report comes a day after Ukrainian authorities discovered more than 440 bodies in a mass grave in Izium. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a video address late...