Ukrainian troops have made progress in the eastern theater of the counteroffensive, but are under pressure further north, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday, according to Reuters.
Ukrainian soldiers in a position on the front in BahmutPhoto: AA/ABACA / Abaca Press / Profimedia
Russian forces backed by Su-35 attack jets began attacking along the front line in the direction of Makiivka in the Luhansk region, a spokesman for the eastern Ukrainian force group said.
“The most difficult area is the Liman-Kupiansk sector,” spokesman Ilia Yevlash told Ukrainian television, referring to two towns recaptured by Ukrainian troops late last year but still under Russian attack.
“The intensity of the assaults there has increased … The enemy has chosen a new point – Makiivka – and is directing all its main efforts in this direction. Of course, we also repel the enemy’s attacks and cause losses of soldiers and equipment”
Fighting has continued to flare up near Liman and Kupiansk, and Ukraine says Russia has deployed more than 110,000 troops to the area.
A Russian missile hit a shop and cafe in the village of Hroza, west of Kupiansk, on Thursday, killing 51 people as residents attended a service for a Ukrainian soldier who had fallen on duty.
“Success” in the east
In the east, Ukrainian forces are fighting to regain ground near the devastated city of Bahmut, captured by Russian forces in May after months of fighting.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in its evening report, said that Kiev forces had “achieved successes” south of Andriivka – a village south of Bahmut captured by Ukrainian troops last month in the Donetsk region.
According to the cited source, Russian forces tried unsuccessfully to recover lost positions in an area further south.
Moscow, on the other hand, said its forces repelled two Ukrainian attacks west of the Russian-held city of Donetsk.
In the southern theater of operations, Kiev’s forces are moving towards the Sea of Azov in an attempt to cut in two the territory occupied by Vladimir Putin’s troops. The Ukrainian General Staff said its forces were continuing their advance south into the Zaporozhye region and had repulsed a Russian attack near the village of Robotîne.
