By Our Special Correspondent
As the war in Ukraine completed 200 days on Sunday, the country recaptured swathes of the south and east in a long-awaited counteroffensive that dealt a heavy blow to Russia.
The counteroffensive began in the last days of August and initially focused on the southern region of Kherson, which had been swept away by Russian forces in the early days of the invasion. But just as Moscow turned its attention and forces there, Ukraine launched another highly effective offensive near Kharkiv in the northeast.
Faced with the prospect of encirclement by a large group of its forces, Moscow withdrew its troops from Kharkiv in a dramatic change of scenery that posed the Kremlin's biggest challenge since the offensive began on February 24.
Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, vowed on Sunday's "Face the Nation" that Ukraine's military would liberate the entire country from Russia amid resistance.
"The Ukrainian army has taken advantage of the movement of the bulk of Russian forces to the south and is trying to dictate the course of the war, excelling in maneuvers and showing great ingenuity," said Mykola Sanhurovsky, a military expert with Razumkov. Center, a Kyiv-based think tank. Ukraine's quick gains, he said, were "important both for seizing the initiative and boosting the morale of the troops."
In a video speech on Saturday night, Zelenskyy praised the army for recapturing nearly 2,000 square kilometers (over 770 square miles) of territory so far this month. He also blamed Moscow for the withdrawal, saying the Russian military was "doing the best it could — look behind it" and that "they made a good choice to run."
Both sides suffered heavy casualties in the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II. Ukraine's military chief said last month that nearly 9,000 soldiers had died in the operation. Although Moscow has not reported its own losses since March, Western estimates put 25,000 dead, wounded, captured and deserters, bringing total Russian losses to more than 80,000.
Ukraine has sought to level the population to reach an active military of 1 million, while Russia, by contrast, continues to rely on a limited number of volunteers for fear that mass mobilization will fuel discontent and upset internal stability.
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