The Ukrainian military has reported that they have regained control of the Derhachi and Kharkiv areas. Russian forces were allegedly trying to encircle the city, but they were stopped by a Ukranian attack.
News organisation Kiev Independent posted on Twitter saying, “Head of Kharkiv Regional State Administration, Oleh Synegubov, announced that Russian forces were attempting to encircle the city but they were repelled by a Ukrainian counterattack.”
An air strike hit a residential building in Kharkiv, on Tuesday, March 8, which killed two people, including a seven-year-old child. Kharkiv is one of the most heavily bombed cities in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, President Zelenskyy is no longer pressing to join Nato. He claims that they were not ready to accept Ukraine.
He said on Wednesday, March 9, that he was open to “compromise” on the status of two breakaway pro-Russian territories that President Vladimir Putin recognised as independent just before unleashing the invasion on February 24.
TALKS IN TURKEY
The Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers will hold face-to-face talks in southern Turkey on Thursday, March 10.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, will be joined at the meeting by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Nato member Turkey has offered to mediate between the two sides. Despite the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, Turkey is keen on maintaining strong relations with both sides.
The Ukrainian military has regained control of the Derhachi and Kharkiv areas. Russian forces were trying to encircle the city, but they were countered by Ukrainian military forces.