Ukraine says it’s launching counteroffensives ‘in several operational areas’

Ukraine says it is launching counteroffensives “in several operational areas” in an effort to repel Moscow’s forces as the country endures its third week of Russia’s unprovoked invasion.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak announced the counteroffensives on Twitter Wednesday, adding that “this radically changes the parties’ dispositions.” He did not provide further details on the matter.

The general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces spoke of the “high intensity of hostilities” as the death toll continues to rise since the invasion began three weeks ago, according to Reuters. 

Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said that just over 100 children have been killed. Their deaths were in addition to strikes on more than 400 educational institutions, including 59 that were destroyed, the news service added.

Also on Wednesday, both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov separately indicated possible progress on peace talks in the war.

Ahead of an address to Congress later on Wednesday, Zelensky said that peace talks were beginning to “sound more realistic.”

Meanwhile, Lavrov said there was “some hope of reaching a compromise.”

“Now this very thing is being discussed in negotiations — there are absolutely specific formulations which in my view are close to agreement,” he added.

Russia’s military attack on Ukraine began on Feb. 24, and since then, more than 2.5 million refugees have fled the country in one of the biggest migration crises in Europe since World War II.