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Oct. 4 that Ukraine had liberated 483 settlements in Kharkiv Oblast so far.

In neighboring Luhansk Oblast, authorities may soon ask remaining residents to evacuate as Ukraine is planning to enter the occupied region, Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhiy Haidai said.

Putin are trying to strengthen their defense near Sievierodonetsk – in Kreminna, Luhansk Oblast – Serhiy Cherevaty, spokesman of the Eastern Operational Command of Ukraine's Armed Forces, told Channel 24.

Ukrainian forces appear to be pushing east of Lyman, Donetsk Oblast, and "may have broken through the Luhansk Oblast (administrative) border in the direction of Kreminna," the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a U.S. defense think-tank, said on Oct. 3.

U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told ABC News that Ukrainian forces are pushing into the Luhansk Oblast while also advancing in the south. On Oct. 4, Biden announced a new $625 million security assistance package to Ukraine, following a call with Zelensky. The security assistance package includes four HIMARS, and additional artillery systems, ammunition, and armored vehicles.

A spokesperson for Kyiv's southern military command said the Ukrainian armed forces have retaken more than 400 square kilometres since the start of October.

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said the villages of Novovoskresenske, Novohryhorivka and Petropavlivka to the northeast of Kherson city had been "liberated".