Ukrainian forces recaptured the town of Piatikhatki, on the southern front, Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Maliar said on social media on Monday.
“Eight towns have been liberated” in total this month since the start of a counter-offensive against Russian forces, with 113 square kilometers of territory recaptured.
In the south, Ukrainian troops “advanced up to seven kilometers deep” into Russian positions, the official said.
On the eastern front, “the general intensity of the fighting dropped last week” and the Ukrainian army “advanced in various directions,” he said, without elaborating.
“The enemy makes considerable efforts to stop our advance in the Bakhmut area. He transferred additional units there and increased the number of shelling,” he said, however.
Separately, the Ukrainian military said it shot down four Kalibr-type missiles and four Russian-launched Iranian-made explosive drones overnight.
“The missile shots were fired from a submarine in the Black Sea and those from drones from the east coast of the Azov Sea,” this source said.
For its part, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that its forces repelled a total of seven Ukrainian “attacks” in the Donetsk region (east), which includes the city of Bakhmut.
According to some analysts, Ukraine has not yet launched the bulk of its forces in its counteroffensive, and is currently testing the front to determine the weak points of the Russian defense.