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Ukraine says it has liberated one village after another and claiming that in one region it pushed the invaders back right up to the border.
Key points:
- Ukraine's military said its troops had liberated more than 20 settlements within the last day
- A Russian-installed official said that Ukrainian forces had outnumbered Russian forces by eight times
- The British defence ministry said Ukraine has recaptured territory at least twice the size of Greater London
"In some areas of the front, our defenders reached the state border with the Russian Federation," the regional governor of the north-eastern Kharkiv region, Oleh Syniehubov, said.
As throughout the war, such military claims were hard to verify independently.
Over the weekend, the Russian Defence Ministry said troops would be pulled from two areas in that region to regroup in the eastern region of Donetsk.
There were reports of chaos as Russian troops pulled out in haste.
"The Russians were here in the morning. Then at noon, they suddenly started shouting wildly and began to run away, charging off in tanks and armoured vehicles," Dmytro Hrushchenko, a resident of recently-liberated Zaliznychne, a small town near the eastern frontline, told Sky News of the quick withdrawal.
It was not yet clear if the Ukrainian blitz could signal a turning point in the war — though some analysts suggested it might be while also cautioning there would likely be fighting for months more.
New strikes on Kharkiv
Strikes in Kharkiv continued during daylight on Monday, with a police station in the centre of the city was hit by a missile, setting part of it on fire and killing one person, regional police chief Volodymyr Tymoahko said.
Teams of firefighters battled flames licking the roof from the top floor as smoke billowed above the area.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said Russian strikes have again cut off power and water supplies to Kharkiv city.
"Last night's situation is being repeated. Due to the (Russian) strikes ... power and water supplies have halted."
Earlier, Kyiv authorities said electricity and water supplies had been restored to some 80 per cent of the Kharkiv region after Russia attacked power stations and other infrastructure on Sunday.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said its troops had liberated more than 20 settlements in the past day.
A Russian-installed official in Ukraine's Kharkiv region said that Ukrainian forces had outnumbered Russian and pro-Russian forces by eight times during the lightning counteroffensive over the weekend.
Speaking to the state-owned Rossiya-24 television channel, Vitaly Ganchev said that Ukrainian forces had captured previously Russian-held settlements in the region's north, breaking through to the border with Russia, and that "about 5,000" civilians had been evacuated to Russia.
Mr Ganchev said "the situation is becoming more difficult by the hour", adding that the border with Russia's Belgorod region was now closed.
The claims could not be independently verified.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took to social media late on Sunday to praise the gains, comments that were shared widely.
"Do you still think you can intimidate, break us, force us to make concessions? Did you really not understand anything? Don't understand who we are? What we stand for? What we are talking about," Mr Zelenskyy exhorted.
"Read my lips: Cold, hunger, darkness and thirst for us are not as scary and deadly as your 'friendship' and 'brotherhood'."
He added: "We will be with gas, lights, water and food … and WITHOUT you!"
In its first public response to the Ukrainian gains on the battlefield, the Kremlin insisted that Russia would achieve its military goals in Ukraine.
"The military operation continues," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"And it will continue until the goals that were originally set are achieved."
The turn of events and all-important reversal of initiative was backed up by international observers who warned of dire times ahead for Russian troops.
It stood in sharp contrast to the first days of the war when Russian troops were moving toward Kyiv's doorstep.
"In the face of Ukrainian advances, Russia has likely ordered the withdrawal of its troops from the entirety of occupied Kharkiv Oblast west of the Oskil River," the British defence ministry said.
"Ukraine has recaptured territory at least twice the size of Greater London."
Russian troops struggling to cross Dnipro River
The British said that likely will further deteriorate the trust Russian forces have in their commanders.
Ukraine's initial move on the southern Kherson area, drawing the attention of enemy troops there, before pouncing on more depleted Russian lines in the north-east beyond Kharkiv has been seen as a great military move so far.
Even around Kherson, Russia is struggling to bring forces across the Dnipro River to stop the Ukrainian offensive there, the British military said.
It added: "The rapid Ukrainian successes have significant implications for Russia's overall operational design. The majority of the force in Ukraine is highly likely being forced to prioritise emergency defensive actions."
The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said on Monday that Russia likely lacks the reserve forces it needs to bolster its defenses in Ukraine.
While the war likely will stretch into next year, the Institute believes that "Ukraine has turned the tide of this war in its favour" by effectively using Western-supplied weapons like the long-range HIMARS missile system and strong battlefield tactics.
"Kyiv will likely increasingly dictate the location and nature of the major fighting."
Seeking to contain its loss of momentum, Russia fired missiles at power plants and other critical infrastructure, immediately meeting with Ukrainian and US criticism for centering on civilian targets.
The bombardment ignited a massive fire at a power station on Kharkiv's western outskirts and killed at least one person.
Mr Zelenskyy denounced the "deliberate and cynical missile strikes" against civilian targets as acts of terrorism.
"Russia's apparent response to Ukraine liberating cities and villages in the east: sending missiles to attempt to destroy critical civilian infrastructure," US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget A Brink wrote.
Separately, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the Russia-occupied south completely shut down in a bid to prevent a radiation disaster as fighting raged nearby.
AP