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Ukraine said on Saturday it had retaken all areas around Kyiv, claiming complete control of the capital region for the first time since Russia launched its invasion.
As Russia's forces regrouped for battles in the east, areas north of Kyiv were littered with destroyed Russian tanks. Ukrainian presidential adviser Okeksiy Arestovych said the country's troops have retaken more than 30 towns and villages since Russia pulled back from the area this week.
Russia has depicted its drawdown of forces near Kyiv as a goodwill gesture in peace talks, which last convened on Friday. Ukraine and its allies say Russia was forced to shift its focus to east Ukraine after suffering heavy losses near Kyiv.
Since sending troops on February 24 in what it calls a "special operation" to demilitarise its neighbour, Russia has failed to capture a single major city and has instead laid siege to urban areas, uprooting a quarter of Ukraine's population.
Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar wrote on Facebook that the "whole Kyiv region is liberated from the invader." There was no immediate Russian comment on the claim, which Reuters could not immediately verify.
Villages surrounding the capital bear scars of five weeks of heavy fighting in which thousands have been killed.
In the village of Nova Basan, among those retaken by Ukrainian forces, the body of a man lay next to the carcass of a car. A woman wept as men brought a coffin to remove the body.
The village showed signs of heavy fighting, with collapsed buildings and the wreckage of tanks and armoured vehicles strewn around. Another dead body, apparently that of a Russian soldier, lay near a destroyed armoured personnel carrier.
Both sides described talks held this week in Istanbul and by video link as "difficult".
But a Ukrainian negotiator said that Russia indicated peace treaty drafts were advanced enough to allow direct talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"They [the Russians] ... confirmed our thesis that the draft documents have been worked on enough to allow direct consultations between the leaders of the two countries," negotiator David Arakhamia told Ukrainian TV, Interfax Ukraine reported.
There was no immediate comment by Russia, which has made no mention of any such talks.
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A Ukrainian soldier inspects a burnt Russian tank in Dmytrivka, Kyiv region. Getty Images -
Ukrainians who fled to Mexico amid Russia's invasion of their homeland arrive at a shelter near the US border, in Tijuana, Mexico. Reuters -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks from Kyiv. AP -
A woman hugs a Ukrainian soldier after a convoy of military and aid vehicles arrived in the formerly Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha. AP -
Shrapnel marks are seen on the statue of a child after shelling that hit the Gorky amusement park, in Kharkiv. Reuters -
A Ukrainian soldier walks next to a military vehicle, outside Kyiv. AP -
A man distributes toilet paper rolls as people wait for medicine and sanitary supply handouts in the formerly Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine. AP -
A woman cooks on an open fire outside an apartment building, in Bucha. AP -
A Ukrainian soldier check streets for booby traps after Russian troops withdrew from Bucha. AP -
Graves of residents who died during the Russian invasion, in front of residential buildings in the areas recaptured by the Ukrainian army, in Kyiv. EPA -
Destroyed Russian military vehicles on a street in Kyiv. EPA -
A Ukrainian soldier walks by the wreckage of the Antonov An-225 Mriya aircraft , the world's largest cargo airplane and relic of the Soviet space programme, which was destroyed during fighting in Hostomel, Ukraine. AP -
Ukrainian soldiers shout patriotic slogans with the Antonov An-225 in the background. AP -
Yulia Dyrda, who sustained arm injuries from Russian shelling, recovers at a hospital in Chuhuiv, Ukraine. Getty Images -
Residents stand next to a stuck Russian tank, in Nova Basan. Reuters -
The mother of Lt Oliynyk Dmytro, 40, mourns his death during his funeral ceremony, after the soldier was killed in action, in Lviv, western Ukraine. AP -
Ukrainian refugees rest in the ticket hall at Przemysl Glowny train station, Poland. Reuters -
A dog walks past the wreckage of a Russian armored personnel carrier, in Dmytrivka, Kyiv region. Getty Images -
Ukrainians ride bicycles past destroyed cars in the town of Bucha, north-west of the capital Kyiv. Reuters -
Buildings damaged by shelling in the town of Makariv, in Kyiv region. Reuters -
A woman carries her dog during an evacuation in the town of Irpin outside Kyiv. Reuters -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gives a video update in which he said the situation in east of the country remained extremely difficult. Reuters -
The Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire, England, illuminated in the colours of the Ukrainian flag. Reuters -
Russian soldiers destroyed this bridge as they withdrew from a village on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP Photo -
A child wrapped in a rescue emergency blanket crosses the border into Medyka, south-eastern Poland. AP Photo -
Flowers lay on a Ukrainian armoured vehicle destroyed during fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP Photo -
Damaged houses and a burnt-out Russian armoured vehicle on the outskirts of Kyiv. AFP -
Ukrainian soldier Dasha, 22, checks her phone after a military sweep to search for Russian troops after their withdrawal from villages in the outskirts of Kyiv. AP Photo -
Ammunition scattered on the ground next to a Ukrainian armoured car destroyed in fighting outside Kyiv. AP Photo
