Ukraine says ousted Russian forces near Bakhmut, south

KYIV: The Ukrainian military on Monday said it had pushed Russian forces out of pockets of territory along front lines in the east and south of the country, building on a gruelling counter-offensive launched two months ago.

The gains — announced by Ukraine’s deputy defence minister — came as Russia claimed its forces had progressed in the eastern Kharkiv region, undermining Kyiv’s highly anticipated campaign.

The Russian army said its its forces repelled six attacks and counterattacks in Ukraine’s north east, and attacked Ukrainian facilities used to produce drone boats in an overnight strike.

“The aim of the strike was achieved. All designated targets were hit,” it said in a statement Monday. Ukraine kicked off its counter-offensive against Russian forces in June after building up assault battalions and stockpiling Western-donated weapons.

But Kyiv has acknowledged that movement against heavily fortified Russian positions has been slow and said it had gained only a clutch of land around the war-battered city of Bakhmut last week.

“In the Bakhmut sector, three square kilometres (1.2 square miles) were liberated last week,” Deputy Defence Minister Ganna Malyar told state television, adding that Ukrainian forces had clawed back 40 square kilometres there since June.

She explained that Ukrainian forces had been diverted from offensive operations around the town — captured by Russian forces in May — citing building Russian pressure in the Kharkiv region.

“It was important for the enemy to divert our forces in other directions, so we could not concentrate our forces for the offensive in the Bakhmut sector,” Malyar said.

Kyiv has also been pressing against deeply entrenched Russian forces in the south of the country in two regions the Kremlin said it had annexed last year.

Malyar said Kyiv’s army had made gains in two villages on the southern front but also confirmed Ukrainian troops had conducted “certain tasks” on the left bank of the Dnipro river in the Kherson region.

The river was rendered the de facto front line between Ukrainian and Russian forces in the region after Kyiv recaptured the territory’s main city, also called Kherson, in November.

In its latest intelligence update, the British defence ministry noted “an uptick in small-scale combat” along the lower Dnipro river, where it said Ukrainian forces were attempting to conduct raids and set up new bridgeheads.

Ukraine has urged its Western allies to ramp up arms deliveries, including long-range missiles and F-16 fighter jets to speed up its offensive.