
A Ukrainian soldier shoots from his position, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in a location given as near Bakhmut, Donetsk Region, Ukraine, in this screengrab obtained from a video released September 2, 2023.
12:41 JST, September 5, 2023
KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine said on Monday its troops had regained more territory on the eastern front and were advancing south in their counteroffensive against Russian forces while President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited two front-line areas.
Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Kyiv’s forces had retaken about 3 square km (1.16 square miles) of land in the past week around the eastern city of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russian troops in May after months of heavy fighting.
She also reported unspecified “success” in the direction of the villages Novodanylivka and Novoprokopivka in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia, but gave no details.
Ukraine has now taken back about 47 square km of territory around Bakhmut since starting its counteroffensive in early June, Maliar wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Reuters was not able to verify the reports and Russia has not confirmed the Ukrainian advances. Both sides have counted gains of tiny villages or pockets land as recent successes.
Videos posted on the Ukrainian presidential website on Monday showed Zelenskiy visiting troops in the eastern Donetsk region, where Bakhmut is located, and in Zaporizhzhia region, where Kyiv’s forces are trying to push southward to the Sea of Azov.
Zelenskiy was shown presenting medals to soldiers at a number of sites and offering thanks to medics at a field hospital on the southern front.
In his nightly address, delivered from a train, the president said the soldiers’ feedback on the course of the conflict would be taken seriously.
“Everything that our fighters talked about will be put to participants in meetings of the command, especially regarding electronic warfare. Guys, we heard you clearly,” he said.
Kyiv officials have bristled at criticism in Western media reports that the counteroffensive has been too slow and hindered by poor tactics — particularly positioning troops in too many locations.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said last week that critics should “shut up.”
Kyiv has retaken a number of villages and settlements in its three-month-old offensive but its soldiers have been hampered by vast Russian minefields and trenches.
Maliar said last week that Ukrainian troops had broken through the first line of Russian defenses, and Ukraine’s military expects now to advance more rapidly.
Moscow has continued to carry out air strikes on Ukrainian targets including port infrastructure, and has reported drone attacks on Russian territory.
A Russian Defence Ministry account on Telegram on Monday quoted an officer with the code name Hedgehog as saying: “The enemy is attacking in a strong and serious fashion, but we are standing firm. We will not let them through.”
"News Services" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
India Says It Attacked Pakistan, Pakistani Kashmir
-
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average Ends Higher; NTT Data Surges on Takeover Report (UPDATE 1)
-
Putin Declares 3-Day May Ceasefire to Mark 80 Years Since World War Two Victory
-
Prime Minister Ishiba Reiterates Demand for U.S. Removal of Auto Tariffs
-
Panasonic to Cut 10,000 Employees, Expects to Book $900 Million Reform Costs
JN ACCESS RANKING
-
U.S. Holds Fire Over Yen Exchange Rate Targets; Bessent Said to Understand Negative Impact on Markets
-
Rents Mark 30-Year-High Rate of Rise; Decrease in Disposable Income May Dampen Personal Consumption
-
Japanese Govt Mulls Raising Number of Cars to be Imported Under Simplified Screen System in U.S. Tariff Negotiations
-
Japan Must Boost Its ‘Indispensability,’ Urges JETRO Chair; Convince United States That Cooperation Will Be Beneficial
-
Japan Presses U.S. to Scrap 25% Auto Tariffs as Ishiba Refuses Partial Trade Deal; No Deal Without ‘Total Rollback’