Ukraine says its troops have advanced more than a kilometer around the battle-torn town of Bakhmut in the past 24 hours and are continuing to put pressure on Russian forces in the area, CNN reports.

“The defense forces continue to hold the initiative (in the direction of Bakhmut – no) and press the enemy, conduct assault operations and advance on the northern and southern flanks,” said the spokesman of the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. , Serhii Sherevatii, for Ukrainian National Radio and Television.

“Especially in the last day, they advanced more than a kilometer,” he said.

Sherevatii further said that the battles were fierce, Russian troops put up some resistance.

“They (the Russians) sometimes counterattack a little, but in general we have the initiative,” he added.

“The most important thing is that we are moving forward, despite the fact that we have parity of forces and means, we do not have an advantage over them,” added the Ukrainian military commander.

And President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said on Thursday that the Ukrainian counteroffensive was “slow,” but that Kyiv’s troops were advancing, AFP reports.

“The offensive is not fast, that’s a fact,” he admitted.

“However, we are moving forward, not retreating like the Russians,” the Ukrainian president, together with his Czech counterpart Petr Pavel, assured journalists in Prague. “Now we have the initiative,” he said.