Today, Saturday, Ukraine announced the restoration of control of a strategic city near the Russian border, advancing tens of kilometers to the south, while Moscow responded by sending reinforcements towards Kharkiv in response to the Ukrainian penetration in that region.

The Ukrainian army said that its forces had regained control of the city of Kobyansk in Kharkiv, close to the Russian border in the east of the country, after battles with Russian forces.

The army also announced the restoration of control over 1,000 square kilometers of the lands controlled by the Russian forces, stressing that its forces had destroyed gatherings of these forces, command and control sites, air defense and 20 ammunition stores.

The Ukrainian General Staff accused the Russian forces of launching 13 missile strikes and 23 air raids on different regions of Ukraine during the past 24 hours.

For his part, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said that his country's forces, with Western military support, have taken control of more villages and towns in eastern Ukraine.

Nikolenko called in a tweet on Twitter to continue sending weapons to his country, noting that the defeat of Russia means achieving peace in Ukraine, he said.

Moscow announced sending reinforcements towards Kharkiv (Reuters - Archive)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Kyiv forces had recaptured 30 towns from Russian forces in the northeast of the country, before the Ukrainian army announced the recapture of the city of Kobyansk.

Russian reinforcements

On the other hand, the Russian army announced sending reinforcements towards Kharkiv in response to a breakthrough achieved by Ukrainian forces in that region.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it had sent reinforcements towards Kharkiv and broadcast pictures of armored vehicles, artillery and trucks, which it said were heading to the area on the Russian-Ukrainian border.

Over the past few days, Ukraine announced that it was launching a counter-attack in the east and south of the country and in the vicinity of Kharkiv, whose center Russia had seized during its continuous attack on its neighbor for more than 6 months.

From Brussels, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Moscow's deployment of reinforcements showed Russia was paying a "heavy price".

For its part, Russian media said that reinforcements in this direction were published, and broadcast videos showing armored vehicles, artillery and trucks traveling in large numbers on roads whose location was not specified.

Moscow did not comment on this deployment, and the Russian Defense Ministry contented itself with mentioning the heavy losses inflicted by the Russian army on the Ukrainian forces.


Berlin is reassuring

Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Annalina Birbock arrived in Kyiv today, Saturday, on an unannounced visit through which she seeks - as she said - to show Berlin's firm support for Ukraine in the war waged by Russia against it.

"I went to Kyiv on Saturday to show that it can count on us, and we will continue to stand by Ukraine for as long as necessary through arms supplies and humanitarian and financial support," she said in a statement.

Birbock emphasized that Berlin's support for Ukraine would not falter in the face of reduced Russian energy supplies.