Blinken says Ukraine has taken back 50% of territory that Russia seized

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

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

"It's already taken back about 50 per cent of what was initially seized," Blinken said in an interview with CNN on Sunday (July 23).

"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."

Late last month, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was quoted as saying that the counteroffensive's progress against Russian forces was "slower than desired."

Ukraine has recaptured some villages in the south and territory around the ruined city of Bakhmut in the east, but has not had a major breakthrough against heavily defended Russian lines.