ukrainian soldier They recaptured 7 villages covering 90 square kilometers Over the past week, Deputy Defense Minister Hannah Mallyar said on Monday that during the early stages of the Kiev counteroffensive Make small progress.
“The battle is hard, but our sport is thereit is very important,” President Volodimir Zelensky declared in his late-night video address.
Maliar posted on Telegram that the Ukrainian flag was flying again in the town of Strozov in the eastern Donetsk province, and its soldiers They also recaptured three other nearby towns Three more are in neighboring Zaporozhye province.
he added Rainy weather complicates the situation for his soldiers And he has discussed with his military commanders “what points on the front we need to strengthen and what actions we can take to break more Russian positions”.
On Sunday, Ukrainian officials said their forces recaptured the following towns:
Russian authorities have not confirmed the progress in Ukraine, which is unverifiable and can be reversed during the course of war. The recovered town occupies only a small part of the territory, exposing the complex panorama that awaits the Ukrainian army, They will have to fight meter by meter to restore nearly a fifth of their country This is under Russian occupation.
The recent battle at the western end of the thousand-kilometer front was caused by Dam that submerged part of Dnieper River bursts Separate the sides.
Western military analysts and officials have warned that Ukraine is trying to dislodge entrenched heavily armed Russian soldiers, It could be years away, and the success of the Ukrainian counteroffensive is uncertain. French President Emmanuel Macron said in Paris that the Ukrainian counteroffensive began days ago and will “continue for weeks, if not months.”
Vladimir Rogov, a Moscow-appointed Zaporozhye regional government official, noted, ‘Heavy fighting’ with artillery, mortars in area and the Russian Air Force.
The towns are part of an area where the Russian front extends into Ukrainian-controlled territory. Although only a few kilometers deep, The area has recently become one of several epicenters of intense fighting Along the front through southern and eastern Ukraine.
Despite their small size, recapturing these towns involved the first line of defense against Russia and could allow the Ukrainian military to attempt deeper infiltration to the occupied area.
Russian military controls less Ukrainian territory than before Ukraine launched a fierce counteroffensive last year, retaking the cities of Kharkiv in the north of the country and Kherson in the south, among other places.
aag