The liberation of Kharkiv region went “much better than expected”, but it is too early to celebrate the victory – Reznikov

The Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksii Reznikov, reported that the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kharkiv region went “much better than expected.”

He spoke about this in an interview.

However, the Minister warned that Russia may launch a counteroffensive in response, so it is too early to celebrate the victory.

According to him, it is necessary to carry out work on liberation of territories.

“The counterattack liberates the territory, and after that we have to control it and be ready to defend,” Reznikov said.

The head of the Ministry of Defense noted that the Ukrainian troops were tired after the six-day attack, but the morale was high, because “the Ukrainians wanted to go into this counteroffensive; we needed this counteroffensive, and this is a sign that Russia can be defeated.”

According to the minister, the “Ukrainian blitzkrieg” was like a “snowball rolling down the slope”, and it was Russia’s biggest setback since the start of the full-scale invasion.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this morning that the Defense Forces have pushed the enemy out of more than twenty settlements over the past day.

The settlements are now under full control of Ukraine, stabilization measures are underway.

Also yesterday, the Ukrainian military reached the border of the Kharkiv Region with Russia in the north of the region and returned the settlement of Hoptivka to Ukraine’s control.

The day before, the Security Service of Ukraine confirmed the liberation of the city of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv Region from Russian occupation.