Ukraine pushes back Russian troops in counter-offensive near Kharkiv

FILE PHOTO: A hotel complex destroyed by a Russian missile during Russia's invasion of Ukraine is pictured in Odesa, Ukraine, May 8, 2022. REUTERS/Igor Tkachenko/File Photo

KHARKIV, Ukraine (Reuters) -Ukraine said on Tuesday its forces had recaptured villages from Russian troops north and northeast of the city of Kharkiv, pressing a counter-offensive that could signal a shift in the war's momentum and jeopardise Russia's main advance.

Ukrainian troops in recent days recaptured four settlements north of Ukraine's second-largest city, said Tetiana Apatchenko, a press officer with the main Ukrainian force in the area.