For months, vast parts of Ukraine have been under Russian occupation, and there was little

sign that would change.

That is, until last week.

Tonight a major victory for the Ukrainians in what could be a turning point in this war.

Ukrainian forces have liberated from the Russians, people in more than 30 settlements in the

northeast region of Kharkiv.

Ukraine's counter-offensive has reshaped the battlefield in a matter of days.

Our colleague Matthew Luxmore is based in Ukraine and has been following this offensive.

We've seen videos of jubilant residents coming out of their homes, in some cases coming

out of their homes for the first time, properly for a very long time.

And these people are coming out to greet Ukrainian soldiers.

We've heard in those videos local, elderly ladies saying, we've cooked you a hot breakfast

or come into our homes, we have freshly made cookies and pies for you.

In a matter of days, Ukrainian forces liberated dozens of towns, mostly in the northeast.

And their soldiers met little resistance from Russian forces.

In fact, most of them had fled their posts as Ukrainian troops advanced.

Matthew describes a video taken by Ukrainian soldiers as they entered a city in the north.

It really shows a kind of vast graveyard of Russian military hardware.

Tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers,

and many other pieces of equipment that are charred and burned out.

And in some cases, broken or falling apart.

This success by the Ukrainian military relied at least in part on an element of surprise.

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