Blinken Says Ukraine Has Taken Back 50% Of Territory That Russia Seized

Ukrainian servicemen of the First Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, prepare to fire an OTO-Melara Mod 56, an Italian-made 105 mm pack howitzer, towards Russian troops at a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine July 23, 2023. (Reuters)
Ukrainian servicemen of the First Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, prepare to fire an OTO-Melara Mod 56, an Italian-made 105 mm pack howitzer, towards Russian troops at a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine July 23, 2023. (Reuters)
TT
20

Blinken Says Ukraine Has Taken Back 50% Of Territory That Russia Seized

Ukrainian servicemen of the First Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, prepare to fire an OTO-Melara Mod 56, an Italian-made 105 mm pack howitzer, towards Russian troops at a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine July 23, 2023. (Reuters)
Ukrainian servicemen of the First Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, prepare to fire an OTO-Melara Mod 56, an Italian-made 105 mm pack howitzer, towards Russian troops at a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine July 23, 2023. (Reuters)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that while Ukraine has reconquered half the territory that Russia initially seized in its invasion, Kyiv faced a "a very hard fight" to win back more.

"It’s already taken back about 50% of what was initially seized," Blinken said in an interview to CNN on Sunday.

"These are still relatively early days of the counteroffensive. It is tough," he said, adding: "It will not play out over the next week or two. We’re still looking I think at several months."

Hopes that Ukraine could quickly clear Moscow's forces from its territory following the launch of a summer counteroffensive are fading as Kyiv's troops struggle to breach heavily entrenched Russian positions in the country's south and east.

Late last month President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was quoted as saying that progress against Russian forces was "slower than desired" but that Kyiv would not be pressured into speeding it up.



First International Airline Lands at Tehran Airport since Flight Suspension

Reuters file photo of an IranAir plane
Reuters file photo of an IranAir plane
TT
20

First International Airline Lands at Tehran Airport since Flight Suspension

Reuters file photo of an IranAir plane
Reuters file photo of an IranAir plane

FlyDubai became the first international carrier to land at Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport on Friday at the end of a 20-day suspension of flights that was imposed due to Israeli attacks on Iran, the official IRNA news agency reported.

The arrival of Flight FZ1930 at Iran's biggest airport from the airline's base in the United Arab Emirates marked the start of a gradual return to normal operations in Iranian airspace, IRNA said.

FlyDubai is a low-cost carrier and a sister airline to Emirates.

Local authorities described the landing as a sign of restored stability and effective crisis management in the country's aviation sector, Reuters said. Passenger services were carried out under full safety and security protocols, IRNA reported.

International and domestic air traffic had been halted following Israeli airstrikes and heightened security concerns across Iranian skies.

Iran's airports have reopened for domestic and international flights, except for those in the cities of Isfahan and Tabriz, and the country's airspace is also open for international transit flights, state media reported.