Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky visited troops close to the front line in eastern Ukraine yesterday, with his military reporting gains around the town of Bakhmut.
Deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said that Kyiv's troops had managed to retake nearly two square miles during the past week around the ruined Bakhmut the scene of some of the bloodiest fighting of Russia's near 18-month war, which has gained symbolic significance for both nations.
Mr Zelensky visited brigades involved in attacks on the section of the front line facing Soledar, the Russian-held town north of Bakhmut.
Ms Maliar said that Ukraine's forces had "some success" in pushing back Moscow's troops in one part of the southeast where Ukrainian forces are trying to retake Russian-occupied territory. Progress has been hampered by widespread mining of positions by Russian troops, as well as strong fortifications, but the deputy defence minister said that the Ukrainian military had pushed forward around the village of Staromaiorske, around 96km (60 miles) southwest of Russian-held Donetsk. Troops were also fighting for control of the neighbouring settlement of Urozhaine.
A Moscow-installed official in an occupied part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region said on Sunday that Kyiv was attempting to break through Russian lines by gaining a foothold in both villages.
Ms Maliar said in a statement to an official military platform: "Hostilities are taking place in the vicinity of Urozhaine and the fight is for this particular locality. There is some success on the southern and southeast axes in the vicinity of Staromaiorske."
This story is from the August 15, 2023 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the August 15, 2023 edition of The Independent.
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