Ukraine’s gains expose thinly spread Russian invaders – more could follow

Moscow diverted best troops to southern city of Kherson leaving south-east of Kharkiv lightly defended

• Ukraine-Russia war: latest updates

In five days, Ukraine's northern counter-offensive has changed everything. What began as a push in a part of the front largely ignored by military analysts became an advance of 43.5 miles (70km), capturing more territory than Russian forces have captured in all their operations since April", according to the Institute of the Study of War.

Before Wednesday, Ukraine had struggled to make much progress with offensive operations. Yet, south-east of Kharkiv, Kyiv has shown it can dynamically exploit military circumstances in its favour - opening up the prospect of further, dramatic gains before winter settles in.