Ukrainian forces continued their campaign to recover areas occupied by Russia in the southeast of the country, on Sunday, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country’s forces “took the initiative”, after moving at a slow pace before that.
Today, Monday, the Ukrainian army said, in a statement on the situation on the front lines, that its forces have so far recovered 169 square kilometers on the southern front and 24 square kilometers around the city of Bakhmut in the east of the country, since the start of its counter-offensive last month.
According to Russian accounts, heavy fighting broke out in areas outside the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, which was captured by Russia’s private military group Wagner in May, after months of fighting.
Equipped with advanced Western weapons, Ukraine launched a counter-attack, which was expected after more than 500 days of war. The offensive has so far focused on restoring control of a group of villages in the southwest of the country, and Ukrainian forces are trying to regain areas around Bakhmut.
Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister, Hana Malyar, said on the Telegram application that fierce fighting had broken out in two regions in the southeast of the country, and she wrote: “We are consolidating our gains in those areas.”
And she added that the Russian forces are defending Bakhmut, while the Ukrainian forces have recorded “progress” on the southern side of the city.
The situation in northern Bakhmut remained unchanged, and Ukrainian forces remained engaged in heavy fighting west of Bakhmut and near Liman to the north in the Donetsk region.
Zelensky was interviewed by the US television station ABC before the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit this week in Lithuania, where Kiev hopes to receive strong indications about joining the alliance in the future, as well as about obtaining guarantees for its security.
Zelensky acknowledged that the progress was slower than he and the army generals wanted, but said Ukrainian forces had taken the initiative.
“We all want to do it faster, because every day means new losses for the Ukrainians. We are moving forward. We do not stand still,” he said, noting that the army had overcome “some inertia” in the previous months.
“We would all like to see the counterattack completed in a shorter period of time. But there is a fact. Today, we are taking the lead.”
Attention has focused in recent days on the village of Klishchevka, which is located in the highlands south of Bakhmut.
Kadyrov wrote on the Telegram application that the (Ahmed) battalion is located “in the difficult Bakhmut region.” He posted a video of a commander atop an armored vehicle near Klishchevka.
Reuters could not independently verify the news about Kadyrov or the battlefield reports.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had repulsed the Ukrainian advance near Bakhmut, where fighting became difficult “not only because of the intensity of fire and daily battles, but also because of the terrain.” The line of contact separating the forces of the two countries is located between two hills.
A spokesman for the Ukrainian army, Andrei Kovalyov, said that the army has already recovered 169 square kilometers in the two main cities of Melitopol and Berdyansk in southern Ukraine, which are currently under Russian control, in addition to 24 kilometers in Bakhmut, which Moscow recently occupied after a long and bloody siege.
On the situation in Bakhmut, Kovalev said: “Ukrainian soldiers are holed up on the lines they reach, and artillery damages specific hostile targets. The enemy is resisting, transferring units and actively using his reserves. Fierce fighting is going on here.”
On Friday, Kiev secured a promise from the United States to hand over cluster munitions, a controversial weapon banned in several countries. Ukraine also demands more artillery and F-16 fighters.