Ukraine says it is about to counterattack, Russia regroups its forces

Meanwhile, other senior Ukrainian officials said their forces were ready to launch a long-promised counteroffensive to retake territory in the conflict with Russia.

Ukraine is about to attack and regroup its forces, image 1 — A Ukrainian soldier on the front line. Photo: Reuters

Earlier, the Wagner mercenary group handed over its positions to the regular Russian army after declaring full control of Bakhmut in the longest and bloodiest battle of the conflict, although Kiev said it still controlled a small part of the town.

In a statement on Telegram, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said the Russian military was continuing its offensive but overall activity had decreased. “Yesterday and today there were no battles – neither in the town nor on the flanks,” she wrote.

Instead, Ms Maliar added, Russian troops were shelling the outskirts and approaches to Bakhmut. "Russian troops are being replaced and regrouped," she said.

Ukraine is expected to launch a counter-offensive to retake territory occupied by Russia soon. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, told the BBC that this could begin "tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or in a week".

Presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak told the British Guardian newspaper that preliminary operations such as destroying supply lines or blowing up warehouses had begun.

The governor of Russia's southern Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said he was shelled on Saturday as he arrived in the town of Shebekino, just 7 kilometers (4 miles) from the border with Ukraine.

“I couldn’t even get out of the car. There was an explosion on a nearby street,” Gladkov wrote on Telegram. Over the past week, Russian-Ukrainian militants have launched raids in several Russian regions on the border with Ukraine.

Hoang Anh (according to Reuters, Guardian)

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