Ukraine has reclaimed control over groups of villages in the southeast and made gains around the long-standing eastern flashpoint of Bakhmut, the Reuters news agency reported on Thursday, citing officers in Kyiv.
Ukraine seizes 'strategic initiative’
Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Gen. Valery Zaluzhnyi told the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, that Ukrainian troops had “succeeded in seizing the strategic initiative.”
Zaluzhnyi wrote on the Telegram social messaging app, as quoted by Reuters: “Ukraine’s defence forces are proceeding with their offensive action and we have made advances. The enemy is offering strong resistance, while sustaining considerable losses.”
He told America's Milley about weapons needed by Kyiv forces as well as demining equipment, with swathes of mined land reportedly hampering Ukraine’s advance, according to Reuters.
'Every day, there is an advance'
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar told national television that Kyiv’s forces were making “slow but sure” gains in the summer counteroffensive, launched earlier this month.
Malyar said in an interview on Wednesday evening: “Every day, there is an advance. Yes, the advances are slow, but they are sure.”
The deputy defence minister cited progress in the direction of the Russian-occupied southern ports of Berdiansk and Mariupol, as well as the liberation of the southeastern village of Rivnopol, Britain’s The Telegraph newspaper reported.
On Thursday morning, Malyar wrote on Telegram, as quoted by The Telegraph, that, in the Rivnopol area, Ukraine’s forces were “draining the enemy’s offensive potential, destroying equipment, warehouses, control points and personnel."
Death toll from Russia’s strike on Ukraine's Kramatorsk reaches 12
Meanwhile, the death toll from Russia’s missile attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk earlier this week has risen to 12, Polish state news agency PAP reported on Thursday.
Another body was pulled from the debris in the early morning, according to Ukraine’s emergency services.
In all, 12 people have been confirmed dead, including three children, and 60 people were injured in the attack on Tuesday, Britain’s The Guardian newspaper reported.
“Emergency and rescue operations have been completed,” Ukraine’s emergency services said.
Russia on Wednesday fired on 11 settlements in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, killing one person, according to state broadcaster Suspilne, as cited by The Guardian.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Thursday is day 491 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, Reuters, The Telegraph, The Guardian