The war in Ukraine has entered its "third stage" and the current military successes of Ukrainian forces will have an avalanche effect, leading to the defeat of the Russian army, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said in an interview with France's Monde newspaper published today , BTA reported.

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"Our counteroffensive is the third stage," Reznikov points out against the backdrop of the rapid advance of Ukrainian forces in eastern and southern Ukraine.

Ukraine said it had regained 3,000 square km of territory since the beginning of this month.

"The aim of the first stage of the war was to contain the Russians. The second consisted in establishing a balance between them and us at the front, in stabilizing the front and in testing their endurance," the Ukrainian minister explained to the French publication.

"Our general staff made a plan in view of the armaments we received from our partners; we began to use the Hymars mobile artillery systems to cut the enemy's logistics lines, destroy fuel and ammunition depots. This is the third stage of the war, which started in southern and northern Ukraine, in the regions of Kherson and Kharkiv," Oleksiy Reznikov also says.

Ukraine's goal is to liberate all its occupied territories, "including Crimea, Luhansk Oblast and Donetsk Oblast. Our border guards will establish their posts along the Russian-Ukrainian border - as it was secured in 1991," the minister emphasizes.

In addition to the "complete liberation" of Ukrainian territories, Kyiv is also demanding a "very clear road map for the payment of reparations by Russia and the prosecution of those responsible for war crimes" committed since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24.

Russian invasion of Ukraine