Ukraine reports advances on eastern and southern fronts

Ukraine announced on Monday that their troops had made progress in regaining territory in the eastern front and were pushing further south in their counteroffensive against Russian forces.

Hanna Maliar, the Deputy Defence Minister, stated that Kyiv’s forces had recaptured approximately 3 square km (1.16 square miles) of land in the past week around the city of Bakhmut. This city had been seized by Russian troops in May after a lengthy period of intense fighting.

In addition, Maliar mentioned unspecified achievements in the direction of Novodanylivka and Novoprokopivka, villages located in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia, although no specifics were provided.

Since commencing their counteroffensive in early June, Ukraine has now reclaimed around 47 square km of territory in the vicinity of Bakhmut, as stated by Maliar on the Telegram messaging app.

Reuters has been unable to confirm these reports, and Russia has not acknowledged any territorial losses suffered by Ukraine.

Although Kyiv has managed to retake several villages and settlements in their offensive, their progress has been hindered by extensive Russian minefields and trenches.

Last week, Maliar declared that Ukrainian troops had successfully breached the initial line of Russian defenses, leading the military to believe that their advancement will now be more rapid.

Moscow has continued to carry out airstrikes targeting Ukrainian structures, including port infrastructure, and has reported incidents of drone attacks on Russian territory.

(This story has been corrected to clarify that the 47 square km of recaptured territory was around Bakhmut in paragraph 4)

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa, Editing by Timothy Heritage)