The Ukrainian military says Russian forces are maintaining their offensive in the country’s east — but that Ukraine has been able to repel their advance.
“The enemy used barrel and rocket artillery in the areas of Yakovlivka, Travneve, Kodema, Pokrovske, Rozdolivka, Kurdiumivka, Zaitseve, Bakhmut and Soledar settlements. There were airstrikes near Yakovlivka, Soledar and Kodema,” the military’s General Staff said in a morning update on Thursday.
It said Russian forces “tried to improve the tactical position” in a number of directions, but “had no success … and retreated.”
Russia continues to conduct “offensive operations in the direction of Novoluhanske – Kodema, hostilities continue,” the General Staff added.
Eastern front line: Ukrainian authorities reported intense shelling across most of the eastern battlefield.
Near Kharkiv, Russian forces tried to make a push towards Bairak–Husarivka, the Ukrainian military said.
Russian forces had largely abandoned Kharkiv as a target, as they focused on the Donbas regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, it added.
Fighting in the south: Meanwhile In Ukraine’s southern flank, Russian forces relied mostly on artillery, shelling more than 25 settlements in and around Mykolaiv. The city has faced intense shelling throughout the week, with a Ukrainian grain mogul and his wife killed last Saturday in an attack.
Residents there told CNN it was the heaviest shelling in the city since the start of the war.
Ukraine has been trying to mount a counteroffensive in this area, and Ukrainian officials have said Moscow is using artillery to defend and hold onto the territory it controls.
Source: www.cnn.com