The Ukrainian military has pushed Russian forces out of hundreds of cities and towns in the northeast of the country, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says the stabilization of the liberated communities is under way.
Zelenskiy said in his nightly address on September 13 that Ukraine was in full control of more than 4,000 square kilometers of territory recaptured from Russian forces and is stabilizing another 4,000 square kilometers.
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"The commander in chief held another charge. As of this time, stabilization measures have been completed in areas with a total area of more than 4,000 square kilometers, and stabilization continues in approximately the same liberated territory," Zelenskiy said.
"Remnants of occupying forces, sabotage groups are discovered, collaborators are detained, full security is restored," he said.
Just one day earlier, Zelenskiy said Ukraine had retaken 6,000 square kilometers in its recent counteroffensive in the northeast, where dozens of areas, including the cities of Izyum, Kupyansk, and Balaklia have been retaken.
Ukrainian forces in the Kharkiv region have since September 6 reclaimed more than 300 settlements and areas home to around 150,000 people, said Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar, speaking in the central square of Balaklia.
A senior U.S. military official said Russia had largely ceded territory near Kharkiv and pulled many of its troops back over the border.
Ukrainian troops have shared videos of themselves raising Ukrainian flags on buildings in the Kharkiv region and being greeted by grateful residents. Some of the videos show pieces of Russian artillery and tanks left behind by fleeing troops.
With the recapture of nearly all of the Kharkiv region, the Ukrainian advance could soon spread into neighboring Luhansk and Donetsk, where Russia has concentrated its forces in an effort to expand territory held by Kremlin-backed separatists since 2014.
Serhiy Hayday, governor of the Luhansk region, said troops had already retaken the city of Lyman in northern Donetsk, a claim that could not be independently verified. He said Svatove to the east would likely be the next battle front.
Though the recent territorial shifts marked one of Russia's biggest setbacks since its troops were repelled from Kyiv in the early days of the war, Moscow signaled it was no closer to agreeing to a negotiated peace, and the Kremlin insisted it would achieve its military goals.
Russia said it was carrying out strikes across the Ukrainian front line and accused Ukrainian soldiers of abusing civilians in the recaptured territories.
"Air, rocket, and artillery forces are carrying out massive strikes on units of the Ukrainian armed forces in all operational directions," the Russian Defense Ministry said in its daily briefing on the conflict.
"High-precision" strikes have also been launched on Ukrainian positions around Slovyansk and Kostyantynivka in the eastern Donetsk region, it added.
WATCH: Russian artillery litters the fields in areas of the Kharkiv region that Ukrainian troops have taken back in the last few days. Ukrainian soldiers have posted videos of themselves raising Ukrainian flags on buildings and being greeted by grateful residents.
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Ukrainian Troops Post Jubilant Videos Of Kharkiv Conquests
In a phone call on September 13, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to find a diplomatic solution for the conflict based on a cease-fire and the complete withdrawal of Russian troops, a spokesman for the chancellor's office said.
Putin told Scholz that Russia provides the Red Cross access to Ukrainian prisoners of war and highlighted Russia's willingness to remain a reliable energy supplier, the Kremlin said in a statement.
Putin and Scholz also discussed the situation around the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant in Ukraine, the Kremlin said.
The UN nuclear watchdog said later on September 13 that all three of the backup power lines at the Zaporizhzhya power plant had been restored. One of the lines is providing the plant with the external electricity it needs for cooling and other essential safety functions, while the other lines are being held in reserve, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement.
Ukraine, meanwhile, called on the West to speed up deliveries of weapons to back its dramatic advance.
U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Washington would announce a new military aid package for Ukraine in the "coming days."
Kirby said it was too early to say whether gains by Ukraine signalled a turning point in the war.
"What you're seeing is certainly a shift in momentum by the Ukrainian armed forces," he said, but Zelenskiy should be the one to "determine and decide whether he feels militarily they've reached a turning point."