Intense battles are currently taking place in various regions of Ukraine as Kyiv’s forces push forward with their counter-offensive, According to the country’s deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar.
According to Maliar’s recent update on Telegram, Ukrainian troops have made significant progress in the east near Bakhmut and in the south near Zaporizhzhia.
However, Maliar also acknowledged that Russian forces are putting up a strong resistance in certain areas. Despite this, the Ukrainian military remains determined to defend their country’s sovereignty and protect their citizens from further harm.
The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has resulted in countless casualties and displacement of civilians.
Her comments come after another night of Russian missiles, and drones strike on cities across Ukraine.
Russia has stepped up its bombing campaign in recent weeks, despite President Vladimir Putin admitting that his forces are suffering from a “shortage of missiles and drones.”
In the early hours of Thursday morning, overnight attacks hit industrial facilities in the Dnipropetrovsk region, according to Ukraine’s army. Regional military spokesperson, Serhiy Bratchuk said a series of drone attacks on the Black Sea region of Odesa were repelled by air defence systems.
The previous day, a strike on a warehouse and a shopping centre in the city of Odesa had killed three people.
Kyiv’s much-anticipated advance has been long in the making, and Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of increasing strikes in recent weeks to deflect attention from the offensive.
The Ukrainians say their troops have recaptured seven settlements and at least 90 sq km, 35 sq miles, since starting their counter-offensive.
Senior Western officials have warned against the idea that Russian forces will simply “melt away” in the face of Ukrainian attacks, adding that Kyiv’s gains had already been “costly.”
Both sides have reported mounting casualties among their opponents, which can not be independently verified.
