Ukrainian, Russian forces engaged in heavy fighting in east, south

Ukraine’s military on Tuesday reported heavy fighting in the east and southeast, the main theaters of its drive to recapture land seized by Russian invaders, saying its forces had repelled dozens of enemy attacks.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who expressed a measure of frustration with NATO’s failure to offer Ukraine a timeline for alliance membership, suggests that the early stages of a counter offensive in those two regions are going to plan.

For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
But he also says he wishes the advances were faster.
Russian accounts from the front line also outlined clashes, including a successful defense of areas near the devastated city of Bakhmut, where Ukraine says its forces are recovering ground.
A spokesperson for Ukraine’s General Staff, Andriy Kovaliov, said Ukrainian troops had beaten back a Russian advance backed by artillery strikes near two towns north of Bakhmut – captured by Russian mercenary forces in late May.
The fluid situation near Bakhmut has been the focus of much attention, with Ukraine noting gains on the city’s southern fringe, particularly the strategic village of Klishchiivka.
Liberating the village, which lies on higher ground, would give Ukrainian forces operational advantage in potentially encircling Russian forces in Bakhmut, analysts say.
Ukraine said on Monday it controlled heights ringing the village, enabling it to fire on targets in Bakhmut itself.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had repelled nine attempted Ukrainian advances in eastern Donetsk region, including one drive near Kliishchivka.
In the south, Ukraine says it has retaken a cluster of villages in the early stages of a drive towards the Sea of Azov – with the aim of severing Russia’s land bridge linking eastern Ukraine to the Crimea peninsula, which it annexed in 2014.
Ukrainian General Oleksander Tarnavskyi, writing on Telegram, said battles were raging throughout the sector, with his forces repelling 27 enemy attacks. He estimated Russian losses over 24 hours at the equivalent of several hundred dead and wounded.
For all of Ukraine’s gains in its counter offensive, Russian forces still hold vast tracts of land after more than 500 days of war – some estimates put it at 17 percent of Ukrainian territory.
Ukrainian military analyst Serhiy Hrabskyi said Ukraine’s drive towards the coast was proceeding well, taking account of Russian defense preparations and extensive mining.
“We note that in a month and a half of offensive operations, we have brought in 25 percent of our resources,” he wrote on the Espreso TV website. “By virtue of simple arithmetic, if we continue at this pace we are talking about four months.”
Read more:
Russian forces advance 1.5 km in eastern Ukraine: Shoigu
Russia says it may use similar weapons if US supplies cluster bombs to Ukraine
Ukraine accuses local man for Russian missile strike that killed 11 at restaurant