Ukraine claimed on Tuesday that its forces had retaken settlements north and northeast of Kharkiv from Russian troops, signalling a shift in the war’s direction and jeopardising Russia’s main advance.

In recent days, Ukrainian troops recovered the communities of Cherkaski Tyshky, Ruski Tyshki, Borshchova, and Slobozhanske in a pocket north of Kharkiv, according to Tetiana Apatchenko, press secretary for the 92nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, the major Ukrainian force in the area.

The victories, according to Yuriy Saks, an assistant to Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, have pushed Russian soldiers out of range of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, which has been under constant assault since the war began.

“The Ukrainian armed forces’ combat actions surrounding Kharkiv, notably north and northeast of Kharkiv, are a success story,” Saks told Reuters. “These war criminals were pushed to a line beyond the reach of their artillery by the Ukrainian army.”

The counterattack could mark the start of a new phase in the war, with Ukraine going on the offensive after weeks of Russian assaults that failed to yield results.

By pushing back Russian soldiers who had controlled the outskirts of Kharkiv since the invasion began, the Ukrainians are putting themselves within striking distance of the main Russian attack force further south’s rear supply lines.

“They’re attempting to cut in and behind the Russians in order to cut off the supply lines,” said Neil Melvin of the RUSI think-tank in London.

“Ukrainians are rapidly approaching the Russian border. As a result, all of Russia’s early advantages in Ukraine’s northeast are rapidly eroding.”

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