The counteroffensive has focused on retaking villages in the south and areas around the eastern city of Bakhmut. Ukrainian officials have reported some slow but steady progress.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has acknowledged that Ukrainian attacks have intensified in recent days, but also said that the Ukrainian military has made no progress. On Russian state television, he said that Ukrainian attacks had been repelled and that Russian forces had inflicted heavy losses on their opponents.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Ukraine had deployed additional Western-trained troops to at least one axis of the offensive, but had many more in reserve. Multiple media reports suggested the offensive had entered a new phase.
A video posted on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's Telegram channel shows Ukrainian soldiers celebrating the recapture of Staromaiorske in the southeast.
In the video, a soldier says: “The 35th Brigade and the territorial defense unit 'Ariy' have completed the task and liberated the village of Staromaiorske. Long live Ukraine!”.
“Our defense forces are continuing to liberate settlements,” said Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar.
Reuters has not been able to verify the battlefield reports.
Mr Zelensky said the counter-offensive had not progressed as quickly as he had hoped, but warned people not to expect results as quickly as in the movies.
On Wednesday, Mr Zelensky declared “very good results” on the battlefield but did not give further details.
Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia on July 27, 2023. Photo: Sputnik/Alexei Danichev/via REUTERS
President visits the East and South
On Thursday, he visited eastern and southern regions, including the city of Dnipro and the port of Odesa, where he discussed damage to ports from Russian airstrikes and the town of Ochakiv, a town that has been subjected to heavy shelling from Russia.
In his evening video report, he did not say much about the battlefield, other than to praise the success of retaking Staromaiorske.
Ukrainian military analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko said the new target of the Ukrainian army in the south is Staromlynivka, a village less than 5km away.
“This village served as a stronghold for the Russian occupation forces, it was the highest point in the second line of defense at this location,” he said in an interview with RBC UA.
Although the Ukrainian army has made many victories, mainly in the northeast and south in the past year, Russia still holds about 20% of Ukraine's territory.
On Wednesday, three media outlets quoted unnamed US officials as saying that Ukraine had entered a new phase in its ambitious counteroffensive.
Asked about the reports, Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine’s defense minister, said there was “no new development” on the front line. “In the south, we are advancing slowly but surely.”
In the east, the Russian Defense Ministry said Russian troops repelled Ukrainian attacks around the village of Klishchiivka, a village located higher than the city of Bakhmut, north of Robotyne village on the Zaporizhzhia frontline.
On her Telegram channel, Hanna Maliar wrote about Ukrainian forces “gradually advancing” around Bakhmut and fighting still raging in Klishchiivka and two other villages.
She also said the Ukrainian army had repelled two Russian attacks on the northern frontline near Kupiansk and Lyman.
Nguyen Quang Minh (according to Reuters)
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