Counter-Offensive: Ukraine Retakes More Territory

Ukraine says its troops had recaptured more territory on the Eastern front and advanced in the south in its military counteroffensive against Russian Forces.

Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Kyiv’s Forces had retaken two square km (0.77 square mile) of land in the past week around the shattered Eastern city of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russian troops in May after months of fighting.

Maliar said Kyiv’s Forces also recaptured two villages on the Southern flank of the city, Andriivka and Klishchiivka.

Both cities lie on higher ground and their capture could set the stage to reasserting control over the pivotal city.

Maliar added that Kyiv’s troops have liberated 51 square km (19 square miles) near Bakhmut since the start of the counteroffensive.

Further South in the Donetsk region, Ukrainian troops continued to hold back a Russian offensive towards the towns of Avdiivka and Maryinka, Maliar said.

she said overall, Ukraine regained more than 260 square km (100 square miles) in the South during the counteroffensive.

During its three-month-old counteroffensive, Ukraine has reported slow, steady progress against entrenched Russian positions, retaking a string of villages and advancing on the flanks of Bakhmut, but taking no major settlements.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other officials have dismissed Western critics who say the offensive is too slow and hampered by strategic errors.

REUTERS