Ukraine is launching shells filled with flyers telling Russian troops they're 'cannon fodder' to convince them to give up

• Ukrainian troops are launching shells filled with flyers to convince Russian troops to surrender.
• The move comes as Russia struggles to maintain its hold in Ukraine amid a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Ukrainian forces in Kyiv are trying to encourage Russian troops to give up their fight by launching shells filled with flyers at the advancing troops.

"Russians use you as cannon fodder. Your life doesn't mean anything for them. You don't need this war. Surrender to Armed Forces of Ukraine," the flyers said, according to the Associated Press.

The move comes as Russia struggles to maintain a solid hold on captured territory in Ukraine. In the past week, Ukrainian forces have turned up the pressure on Russian troops in a blistering counteroffensive that has forced some Russian units into retreat.

According to the AP, Ukraine's border guard services said their army took back control of Vovchansk, a town two miles away from Russia that Russian troops captured on the first day of the war in March.

Russian troops have been pulling out of Kharkiv and Melitopol as well, the AP reported, citing reports from the latter city's mayor. Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov reportedly said on Telegram the Russian troops were headed toward Crimea.

Russian troops have also recently vacated the village of Chkalovske, among others, in the Kharkiv region, the AP reported, with Svitlana Honchar, secretary of Ukrainian National Association Branch 96, saying they left quickly.

"They left like the wind," Honchar said Tuesday. "They were fleeing by any means they could." Some were left behind in the immediate exodus, left trying to catch up with fellow troops, Honchar said.

Other reports of recent Russian retreats in the face of the Ukrainian offensive said that some Russian troops tried to disguise themselves in civilian clothes and even stole bicycles from locals to escape from crumbling defensive lines.

A Ukrainian victory in the war remains an uncertainty, even with recent battlefield wins. That said, Ukrainian officials have released video of people burning Russian flags and tearing down posters that read "we are one people with Russia," the AP reported.

In an address to the nation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said forces were carrying out "stabilization measures" in recaptured Ukrainian territories. He added that he wants to restore normalcy to the country.

"It is very important that together with our troops, with our flag, ordinary, normal life enters the de-occupied territory," he said.