President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a stark warning to Moscow, saying “history will put everything in its place” as Ukrainian troops sweep the northeastern region of Kharkiv.   

  In a Telegram post addressed to Russia, Zelensky asked: “Do you still think we are ‘one nation?’  Do you still think you can scare us, break us, make us retreat?’   

  “Did you really not understand anything?  Don’t you understand who we are?  What are we for?  What are we talking about?” said the post published on Sunday.   

  “Read My Lips: No Throttle or No You?”  Without you.  Without light or without you?  Without you.  Without water or without you?  Without you.  No food or no you?  Without you,” Zelensky wrote.   

  “Cold, hunger, darkness and thirst are not as terrifying and deadly to us as your ‘friendship and brotherhood’,” he added.  “But history will put everything in its place.  And we will be with gas, light, water and food… and WITHOUT you!”   

  Zelensky’s message came after a week of stunning battlefield transformation in eastern Ukraine, as the country’s forces pierced Russian defenses and recaptured more than 3,000 square kilometers (over 1,100 square miles) of territory.   

  Russia’s recent collapse in Kharkiv has been met with scathing criticism from Kremlin loyalists – and raised the question of how Moscow will react to its failure.   

  Zelensky said Russia responded Sunday with missile attacks on infrastructure that caused power outages in parts of eastern Ukraine, including the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions.   

  “Even through the impenetrable darkness, Ukraine and the civilized world clearly see these terrorist acts.  Deliberate and cynical missile attacks on critical civilian infrastructure.  No military facilities,” Zelensky said via Telegram.   

  On Monday, Russia launched new airstrikes in Kharkiv as the Kremlin sought to play down Moscow’s pushback in the region, insisting it would achieve all the goals of its “special military operation” in Ukraine.   

  “The special military operation is ongoing and will continue until the initial objectives are achieved,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin was aware of the situation on the front lines.   

  After the success of Ukraine’s counteroffensive on Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry tried to present its retreat as a strategic regrouping.   

  “The decision was made to regroup Russian troops in the Balakleya and Izium regions and reorient their efforts in the direction of Donetsk,” it said.