As the Russians retreat east of Kyiv, Ukrainian soldiers advance.
According to Britain, Ukrainian military are recapturing towns east of the capital Kyiv, while Russian forces attempting to seize the city are reverting to their overburdened supply lines.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden was scheduled to travel to Poland to see firsthand the refugee crisis, which has displaced over a quarter of Ukraine's 44 million inhabitants, with more than 3.6 million fleeing to neighboring countries since the Russian incursion on February 24.
Russian troops have failed to conquer a key Ukrainian city a month into their offensive. At the gates of Kyiv, an offensive believed to be aimed at overthrowing President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's government has been halted.
For weeks, the battlelines have been frozen, with Russian forces attacking Kyiv from the northwest and east. However, in a Friday intelligence briefing, the UK described a Ukrainian counter-offensive that had forced the Russians back a long way.
"Ukrainian counter-attacks, combined with Russian forces reverting to overextended supply lines, have allowed Ukraine to retake towns and defensive positions up to 35 kilometers east of Kyiv," according to the update.
According to the report, Ukrainian forces are likely to try to push Russian forces back on the second key axis threatening Kyiv from the northwest, while Russia may still be contemplating an offensive on the port of Odesa after abandoning its attempt to take Mykolaiv in the south.
The Ukrainian military claimed that its troops were fighting Russian forces attempting to storm Kyiv. Troops were also still defending Chernihiv, northeast of Kyiv, from a Russian push on the capital.