Ukrainian troops have advanced in the eastern theater of the counteroffensive, but are under pressure further north, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday, Reuters reported.
Russian troops, supported by Su-35 attack aircraft, began an attack along the front line in the direction of Makiyivka, Luhansk region, the spokesman for the Eastern Ukrainian group of forces said.
“The Lyman-Kupyansk route is the most difficult,” spokesman Ilya Yevlash told Ukrainian television, referring to the two cities retaken by Ukrainian forces late last year but still under Russian attack.
“The intensity of the assaults there has increased… The enemy has chosen a new point – Makiivka – and is directing all its main efforts in this direction. Of course, we also repulse enemy attacks and cause losses to soldiers and equipment.”
Fighting continues near Lyman and Kupyansk, and Ukraine says Russia has deployed more than 110,000 troops in the area.
A Russian missile hit a shop and cafe in the village of Groza, west of Kupyansk, on Thursday, killing 51 people as residents attended a memorial service for a slain Ukrainian soldier.
“Success” in the east
In the east, Ukrainian forces are fighting to regain ground near the devastated city of Bakhmut, captured by Russian forces in May after months of fighting.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in its evening report that Kyiv troops “achieved success” south of Andriyivka, a village south of Bakhmut captured by Ukrainian troops last month in the Donetsk region.
According to the cited source, Russian troops unsuccessfully tried to restore lost positions in the area further south.
Moscow, on the other hand, said its forces repelled two Ukrainian attacks west of the Russian-held city of Donetsk.
In the southern theater of operations, Kyiv’s troops are advancing towards the Sea of Azov, trying to cut the territory occupied by Vladimir Putin’s troops in half. The Ukrainian General Staff said that its troops continue to advance south into the Zaporizhzhia region and repulsed a Russian attack near the village of Robotyne.
Source: Hot News
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