Ukrainian forces yesterday advanced to 1,400 meters in several areas of the front line near the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine for a counterattack, a military spokesman said on Saturday, according to Reuters.

Humvees in BakhmutPhoto: LIBKOS / AP / Profimedia

The progress is the latest in a series of similar advances reported this week by Kyiv near Bakhmut, which Russia said it had fully captured last month after the bloodiest and longest battle since a large-scale invasion began in February 2022.

“We are trying… to strike at the enemy, we are counterattacking. We managed to advance up to 1,400 meters in various areas of the front,” said Serhii Tserevaty, the spokesman of the Eastern Military Command, answering a question about this. battles near Bakhmut.

In televised comments, Serhii Cherevaty said that Russian troops tried to counterattack themselves, but without success.

According to him, Ukrainian forces inflicted casualties among Russian troops and destroyed military equipment in the area.

Reuters could not independently verify the claim or the situation on the battlefield.

Both Moscow and Kyiv reported heavy fighting in Ukraine on Friday, and military bloggers described the first images of Western tanks and armor, signaling that Ukraine had launched a long-awaited counterattack.

Russia, which has built significant fortifications in occupied eastern and southern Ukraine, said this week that Kiev’s large forces had failed to break through Russian lines.

Ukrainian troops broke through the first line of defense of the Russians

Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Ukrainian troops had penetrated Russia’s front line in some areas, but that Kyiv’s progress was slower in others.

The British military special service claims that Ukrainian troops “probably made good progress” and “broke through the first line of Russian defense.”

Officials in Ukraine, which has been poised for weeks to launch a broad counteroffensive, deny that the expected counteroffensive has begun and say that when it does, it will be obvious.

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