KYIV (Reuters) – Ukrainian forces have successfully recaptured nearly 15 square kilometers (5.8 square miles) of land from Russian troops in eastern and southern Ukraine in the past week as part of their ongoing counteroffensive, according to a senior defense official’s statement on Monday.
Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar announced on the Telegram messaging app that Kyiv’s forces have retaken a total of 204.7 sq km in the south since the beginning of their major push against Russian forces early last month.
The Ukrainian military has been steadily and gradually making progress in their counteroffensive, taking control of multiple villages and advancing on the outskirts of the eastern city of Bakhmut, which fell to Russian forces in May after months of intense battles.
Last week, Kyiv reported the liberation of the village of Staromaiorske in the southeast as part of a campaign aimed at disrupting Russia’s land bridge from the east to the south, including the occupied peninsula of Crimea on the Black Sea.
Russian forces, which initiated a full-scale invasion in February 2022, currently hold vast portions of territory and have constructed a network of fortifications and minefields to impede the Ukrainian troops’ advancement.
Maliar disclosed that Ukrainian troops reclaimed an additional 2 sq km in the past week on the Bakhmut front, bringing the total territory recaptured in that area since the start of the counteroffensive to 37 sq km.
In the south, where Ukrainian forces are striving to make progress towards the cities of Berdyansk and Melitopol, Kyiv’s troops regained control of an additional 12.6 sq km in the last week.
According to Maliar, Russian troops attempted to launch attacks on two fronts in the north near Kupiansk and Lyman, but were unsuccessful in breaking through the Ukrainian defense. She stated, “Our defense forces are effectively holding back the enemy troops.”
Responding to Ukraine’s counteroffensive, the Kremlin commented on Monday that it is “not going according to plan” and criticized the allocation of NATO resources to Kyiv, calling them “wasted”.
Reuters has been unable to independently verify the developments on the battlefield.
(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka and the Kyiv newsroom; editing by Tom Balmforth)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
