Ukrainian forces kept pushing north in the Kharkiv region and advancing to the south and east of the country after the swift fall of Russia’s main bastion in the north-east, Ukraine’s army chief says.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed Russia’s retreat from the city of Izium in the Kharkiv province as a breakthrough in the six-month-old war, saying this winter could bring more rapid gains of territory if Kyiv can get more powerful weapons.

“In the Kharkiv direction, we began to advance not only to the south and east, but also to the north. There are 50 kilometres to go to the state border (with Russia),” Ukraine’s chief commander General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said on Telegram on Sunday.

He said the country’s armed forces have regained control of more than 3000 square kilometres since the beginning of this month.

The fall of Izium marked Russian forces’ worst defeat since they were were pushed back from the capital Kyiv in March, as thousands of Russian soldiers left behind ammunition and equipment as they fled.

“I believe that this winter is a turning point, and it can lead to the rapid de-occupation of Ukraine,” Mr Zelensky said in comments to a political forum published on his website late on Saturday.

“We see how they (occupiers) are fleeing in some directions. If we were a little stronger with weapons, we would de-occupy faster.”

Ukrainian officials stopped short of confirming they had recaptured Izium, but Mr Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak posted a photo of troops on its outskirts and tweeted an emoji of grapes. The city’s name means “raisin”.

Kyiv-based military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said the gains could pave the way for a further push into Luhansk region, whose capture Russia claimed at the beginning of June.

“If you look at the map, it is logical to assume that the offensive will develop in the direction of Svatovo – Starobelsk, and Sieverodonetsk – Lysychansk. These are two promising directions,” he said.

Meanwhile, operations at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine have been fully stopped as a safety measure, says Energoatom, the state agency in charge of the plant.

The plant “is completely stopped” after the agency disconnected the number 6 power unit from the grid, it said in a statement on Sunday.

“Preparations are under way for its cooling and transfer to a cold state.”

Kyiv on Wednesday called for residents of Russian-occupied areas around the plant, Europe’s largest, to evacuate for their own safety.

Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of shelling the nuclear plant, risking a nuclear disaster.

Mr Zelensky has called for the surrounding area to be demilitarised.

Energoatom said that on Saturday it restored to operational capacity a communications line to the power system, which it said had been damaged by Russian shelling, allowing the plant to be powered by Ukraine’s energy system.

-Reuters