Zelenskiy visits retaken town as U.S. mulls more aid
STORY: A dramatic moment on video, as a mother is reunited with her son after six months of Russian occupation, said to be in a town near Kharkiv recaptured by Ukrainian forces.
... coming as the White House says another aid package could be on the cards for its ally in a matter of days, and as questions linger over whether Ukraine's counteroffensive marks a turning point in the war.
Reuters cannot verify where and when the video was taken. The son, a mayor, told Reuters it was in the village of Kozacha Lopan. His mother can be heard saying she knew he'd return.
The leader of the Russian-backed and self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic says forces loyal to Moscow have pushed back Ukraine's advance in at least one area, near the town of Lyman in the eastern Donetsk region.
In another town, Izium, recently recaptured by Ukraine, abandoned tanks litter the area emblazoned with the letter "Z," the symbol Russian forces use to identify themselves.
White House national security person John Kirby:
"I would let President Zelenskiy determine and decide whether he feels militarily they've reached a turning point. But clearly, at least in the Donbas, there's a sense of momentum here by the Ukrainian armed forces. And so what we're going to do is continue to support him as best we can."
President Zelenskiy himself made a surprise visit to Izium on Wednesday (September 14), a major logistics hub about nine miles from the frontline.
This is what he told Reuters and other journalists in the area, as he surveyed the destruction.
"The view is very shocking, but it’s not a shock for me, because we began to see the same pictures from Bucha, from the first de-occupied territories. So the same – destroyed buildings, killed people. And what can I say?”
He led a moment of silence in town.
Russia, which describes the conflict as a special military operation, denies that its forces have deliberately targeted civilians.
Zelenskiy says his forces have retaken about 3,100 square miles as of Tuesday (September 13) night, but Reuters cannot verify the claim.
