<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;">A Russian-installed official in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region said today that Ukrainian forces outnumbered Russian and pro-Russian forces by eight times during a lightning Ukrainian counteroffensive in the region last week.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Speaking to the state-owned Rossiya-24 television channel, Vitaly Ganchev said that Ukrainian forces had captured previously Russian-held settlements in the region’s north, breaking through to the border with Russia, and that “about 5,000” civilians had been evacuated to Russia.</div><div><br></div><div>Ganchev said “the situation is becoming more difficult by the hour”, adding that the border with Russia’s Belgorod region was now closed.</div><div><br></div><div>Reuters could not immediately verify battlefield reports.</div><div><br></div><div>Over the weekend, Ukrainian forces overran the key Russian supply hubs of Izium and Kupiansk, where the Kharkiv region’s Russian-appointed administration had been based.</div><div><br></div><div>Yesterday, Russia’s defence ministry published a map, showing that Russian forces had almost entirely abandoned the Kharkiv region. - Reuters&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>