Ukraine claimed on Monday to have broken the Russian defense line after reoccupying two villages near the devastated city of Bakhmuton the eastern front, and claimed to have taken seven km2 in this area last week.
Ukrainian troops have been immersed in an arduous counteroffensive against Russian fortified lines since June and have increased pressure in the last two weeks in the south and east.
Kiev troops have claimed in recent days the capture of the villages of Andriivka and Klishchiivka and this Monday the commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, General Oleksandr Sirski, said that his units managed “break the enemy’s defense line.”
The general stated that Andriivka and Klishchiivka “They formed an important part of the Russian defensive line that extends from Bakhmut to Jórlivka”, at a distance of about 50 kilometers.
The soldier indicated that the situation on the eastern front “continues to be complicated” and stated that “Fierce fighting continues near Bakhmut.”
Bakhmut is a key position on the Eastern Front and has been in the hands of Russian troops since May. This city has been devastated by fierce fighting and bombings that have been going on for more than a year.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry reported this Monday that its forces liberated 2 km2 last week in the Bakhmut area and more than 5 km2 in the south, where efforts are now focused on the town of Verbove.
Bombings and sabotage
The Ukrainian army indicated this Monday that Russia launched 24 drones and 17 missiles in a new barrage of night bombings, in the regions of Mikolaiv and OdessaIn the south.
“18 drones were shot down” and the 17 cruise missiles, he specified on Telegram.
For its part, the Russian military claimed that it bombed Ukrainian positions from depots of Storm Shadow cruise missiles and depleted uranium munitions, two types of weapons supplied by the United Kingdom.
“The target of the bombing was reached. “All facilities were hit,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Hours earlier Moscow claimed that it demolished during the night several ukrainian drones in the annexed peninsula of Crimea, in the Moscow region and in Belgorod and Voronezh, near the border with Ukraine.
Pro-Russian authorities in Donetsk, a separatist stronghold in eastern Ukraine, reported a Ukrainian bombing that damaged a municipal administration building.
And Russian security services said they detained two members of a pro-Kiev armed group in a Ukrainian border region that planned “acts of sabotage” and wanted to “burn down an administrative building.”
This group, the Freedom for Russia Legionhas carried out several armed incursions into Russian territory, in regions near Ukraine.
Zelensky at the UN
Despite the announcements, Ukraine’s progress against Russian defenses has been limited, triggering a debate among Kiev’s Western allies about ongoing military strategy, with both the United States and NATO warning that they expect a long conflict. .
The chief of the US General Staff, General Mark Milley, estimated that this counteroffensive “has not failed”, but the road to victory is still very long.
At the diplomatic level, Zelensky will travel this week to the United States, where he will participate in the UN General Assembly in New York.
The Ukrainian president will travel to Washington on Thursday and will be received at the White House by US President Joe Biden.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is visiting Russia, starting this Monday and continuing through Thursday, to hold talks on “security”.
Ties between China and Russia, allies for years, have strengthened since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which Beijing refuses to condemn.
This visit takes place after the tour of Russia by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who on Monday conveyed his “heartfelt gratitude” to President Vladimir Putin.
Kim’s almost week-long trip to the Russian Far East did not lead to “any agreement,” according to the Kremlin, but it highlighted possible military pacts between the two countries, in a context of concern in the West about possible deliveries of weapons of war. Pyongyang to Moscow.
(With information from AFP)
Source-www.infobae.com