Ukrainian troops are advancing in all directions of the counteroffensive against the Russian occupation forces, a high-ranking official of the Ministry of Defense said on Friday, quoted by Reuters and Agerpres.

Since the counteroffensive began this month, Ukraine says it has taken control of several villages in the southeast, although Russia still holds parts of Ukrainian territory in the east, south and southeast.

“If we are talking about the entire front line, both in the east and in the south, then we have taken a strategic initiative and are advancing in all directions,” Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said on Ukrainian state television.

Reuters could not independently verify the situation on the battlefield. Russia still does not recognize the territory of Ukraine and claims that the Ukrainian army is suffering heavy losses.

The Ukrainian army is advancing, but slowly

Malyar noted that Ukrainian troops are “confidently” advancing from the flanks around the destroyed city of Bakhmut (in the east), which is held by Russian troops, and the main battles are taking place around it.

According to her, in the south, the forces of Kyiv are advancing with variable success, leveling the front line.

“In the south, we move with variable success, sometimes there are days when we advance a kilometer, sometimes less than a kilometer, sometimes up to two kilometers,” the Ukrainian deputy minister clarified.

Malyar emphasized that the effectiveness of the counteroffensive should be evaluated by “a large number of various military tasks”, and not only by advancing and liberating settlements.

“So, all these tasks are being carried out, and only the military can correctly and accurately assess it, or, according to their assessment, everything is going according to plan,” she said.

Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi admitted that the offensive is going slower than he would like, but said that this is due to the need to preserve the lives of the troops.

General Valery Zaluzhnyi, “annoyed” by the presentation of the offensive as a “showcase”

Ukrainian officials also said that the “main event” of the counteroffensive had not yet begun and that Ukraine had not yet sent its main reserves into battle.

“It annoys me when they say that the long-awaited offensive of Ukraine in the south and east of the country began more slowly than expected, because every meter of land was won with blood,” said the head. Valery Zaluzhny of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in an interview with The Washington Post on Friday, which was quoted by the local TV channel “Kanal 24”.

The Ukrainian army advances every day, even by 500 meters, said Zaluzhny.

“This is not a show. It’s not a show that everyone watches or bets on or anything like that. Every day, every meter of land is won back with blood,” the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces emphasized.

In order for this Ukrainian counteroffensive to take place faster, more weapons of each type are needed, as well as air superiority, that is, F-16 fighters, Zaluzhny also said, as quoted by the mentioned TV channel.

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