UKRAINE: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy issued a warning to Ukrainians, stating that Russia was dedicating all its resources to halt Kyiv’s troops from advancing in their counteroffensive. Meanwhile, a senior general reported significant advancements on the southern front.
However, military analysts from Ukraine claimed that the attempt by Ukrainian soldiers to march south had been difficult.
Ukraine has launched a counteroffensive to retake areas of land in its eastern and southern regions that Russian forces took during their invasion that began in February 2022.
It has concentrated on taking villages in the southeast in an offensive towards the Sea of Azov and regions close to the eastern city of Bakhmut, which Russian soldiers captured in May after months of fighting.
Russian reports have stated that their forces successfully pushed back Ukrainian attacks in the eastern Donetsk region, particularly in the vicinity of Bakhmut.
“We must all understand very clearly, as clearly as possible, that Russian forces in our southern and eastern lands are doing everything they can in order to stop our soldiers,” said Zelenskiy in his nightly video address following a high-level meeting with senior military commanders on Friday.
“And every thousand metres we advance, every success of every combat brigade deserves our gratitude,” he added.
The commander of the Ukrainian forces in the south, General Oleksander Tarnavskyi, said following the meeting that his men were “systematically moving the enemy out of their positions.”
He said on Telegram that enemy losses during the last 24 hours were at least 200.
Serhiy Hrabskyi, a military analyst, said of Berdiansk, a port on the Sea of Azov, “In the south, the situation is very difficult in advancing towards Berdiansk.” The Ukrainian military intends to destroy a land connection that Russian forces have built to the Crimean Peninsula.
“They are moving on the village of Robotyne. The enemy is offering resistance to stop our advance southward,” he further added.
In its daily report, the Russian Defence Ministry stated that its forces had fended off 16 Ukrainian assaults on the eastern front, including ones near the bitterly fought town of Maryinka and in the vital village of Klishchiivka on Bakhmut’s southern edge.
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