Ukrainian authorities claimed that around 500 square kilometers (almost 200 square miles) of territory has been recaptured in the southern Kherson region in the past two weeks.
Natalia Humeniuk, a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian military in the south, said the settlements of Vysokopillia, Novovoznesenske, Bilohirka, Myroliubivka and Sukhyi Stavok were “completely liberated from the occupiers and are under the Ukrainian flag."
Speaking at a briefing on Monday, Humeniuk said "the area has been cleared" of Russian mines, adding that "additional measures still are being taken there.”
“Shelling of these territories continues, but the population is under Ukrainian jurisdiction," she added.
Ukrainian forces have the ambitious goal of taking back most of the Russian-occupied region of Kherson by the end of the year, senior US officials and Ukrainian officials told CNN last Wednesday.
CNN cannot independently verify Humeniuk's claims.