Ukrainian forces swept deeper into territory seized from fleeing Russian troops on Monday and joyful residents returned to former frontline villages, while Moscow's shells rained down on Kharkiv, setting off fires across the region's main city.
Ukraine's general staff said its soldiers had recaptured more than 20 towns and villages in just the past day. Further south, they repelled attempted Russian advances in two important areas of the Donetsk region - the city of Bakhmut and Maiorsk, near the coal-producing town of Horlivka, it said in an evening update.
"People are crying, people are joyful, of course. How could they not be joyful!" said retired English teacher Zoya, 76, in the now-quiet village of Zolochiv, north of Kharkiv and 18 km (10 miles) from the Russian frontier, weeping as she described the months she had spent sheltering in the cellar.