Ukraine claims gains near Bakhmut as heavy fighting rages in east
Russia says Ukraine has launched a long-awaited counter-offensive, but denies Kiev made gains along the front lines.
Ukraine has reported heavy fighting in the eastern region of Donetsk as its troops made gains near the devastated city of Bakhmut, which was taken by Russia last month.
Serhiy Cherevaty, spokesman for Ukraine’s eastern military command, said on Saturday that Ukrainian troops had advanced 1.2 km (0.75 mi) near Bakhmut in the past 24 hours.
“We took advantage of the enemy’s rotational measures and the fact that units entering the area did not fully know the area, and failed to carry out proper reconnaissance and coordination. We struck,” he told Ukrainian television. “We have been carrying out attacks for several days.”
Meanwhile, at least three people have been killed in a nighttime Russian drone and missile attack in Odessa’s Black Sea port, the city’s military command said on Saturday, adding that eight Russian drones and two missiles were shot down.
Ukrainian deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar told messaging app Telegram: “The situation is tense on all fronts.”
She mentioned eastern areas where heavy fighting has been going on for months and said: “The enemy continues to focus its main efforts on the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivsky and Mariinka directions, the heavy fighting continues.”
She said Ukrainian troops repelled the Russian attacks.
In recent days, Ukrainian forces have made their fastest gains around the edges of Bakhmut, aiming to encircle the eastern city devastated by months of war.
Long-awaited counter-offensive
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukrainian forces began a long-awaited counter-offensive and suffered “considerable” casualties in their attempts to break through Moscow’s defense lines in Ukraine.
“In neither direction have they achieved their goals, this is clear,” he said.
Russia’s defense ministry said it will continue to repel Ukrainian attacks in the southern region of Zaporizhia, Russian news agencies reported. Moscow controls large parts of the Zaporizhia region, home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
Ukrainian officials made little mention of the situation in Zaporizhia, but the head of the president’s office said a junior nurse and a plumber had been killed by Russian shelling of a hospital in Huliaipole in the region.
Moscow journalist Daniel Hawkins told Al Jazeera that while Ukraine has remained tight-lipped, “Moscow has been only too willing to provide updates on frontline events over the past 72 hours.”
Hawkins said videos have emerged of the German Leopard tanks and the US Bradley fighting vehicles destroyed in Zaporizhia.
“Fighting will continue for the next few days as Ukrainian troops probe Russian defenses and try to break through,” he said.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday said he planned to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone soon to urge him to withdraw his troops from Ukraine.