FOG BLOG UKRAINE LOG: UKRAINE MAKING GAINS, TAKES BACK TERRITORY , CAPTURES RUSSIAN SOLDIERS!

Ukraine reclaims more territory, reports capturing many Russian soldiers Ukraine says Russia has stopped sending new units into the conflict zone A Ukrainian soldier smiles from a military vehicle on the road in the freed territory in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine on Monday. Ukrainian troops retook a wide swath of territory from Russia on Monday, pushing all the way back to the northeastern border in some places. (Kostiantyn Liberov/The Associated Press)

Ukrainian troops retook a wide swath of territory from Russia on Monday, pushing all the way back to the northeastern border in some places, and claimed to have captured many Russian soldiers as part of a lightning advance that forced Moscow to make a hasty retreat. A spokesperson for Ukrainian military intelligence said Russian troops were surrendering en masse as "they understand the hopelessness of their situation." A Ukrainian presidential adviser said there were so many prisoners of war that the country was running out of space to accommodate them. As blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flags fluttered over newly liberated towns, the Ukrainian military said it had freed more than 20 settlements in 24 hours. In recent days, Kyiv's forces have captured territory at least twice the size of greater London, according to the British Defence Ministry. Ukraine's general staff claimed on Facebook that Russia has also stopped sending new units into the conflict zone. Momentum lifts morale

After months of little discernible movement on the battlefield, the momentum has lifted Ukrainian morale and provoked rare public criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin's war.

"In some areas of the front, our defenders reached the state border with the Russian Federation," said Oleh Syniehubov, governor of the northeastern Kharkiv region. Over the weekend, the Russian Defence Ministry said troops would be pulled from two areas in that region to regroup in the eastern region of Donetsk.

It was not yet clear whether the Ukrainian blitz could signal a turning point in the war. Momentum has switched back and forth before, but rarely with such a big and sudden swing.