The Ukrainian counter-offensive has recaptured swathes of territory

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his forces have liberated more than 2,300 square miles in the east and the south since the beginning of September. Photograph: Kostiantyn Liberov/AP

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has told Russian soldiers to “go home” if they want to live after a counter-offensive pushed the Russian army out of the northeastern region of Kharkiv.

But while Ukraine’s gains have been impressive, expelling the Russian invaders from other regions, where there is less favourable geography and a higher concentration of elite troops, could be far more difficult. .

Dan McLaughlin reports on the counter-offensive, the reaction in Russia and what it all means for the course of the war in today’s In The News podcast.