Ukrainian official reports heavy clashes in northeast

A senior Ukrainian official reported intense fighting in the country’s northeast on Sunday, with Kyiv’s forces holding their ground and making progress in certain areas.

In response, Russia’s military claimed that Ukrainian forces had been halted in the northeast. They also stated that three Ukrainian drones attempting to strike Moscow were brought down, and a high-rise building, reportedly housing government offices, was damaged.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described the situation on the front as “a good day, a powerful day,” especially near Bakhmut, where Ukrainian forces are reclaiming territory lost to Russian forces in May.

While Ukraine did not directly claim responsibility for the drone attacks, Zelenskiy asserted that the war was gradually returning to Russia’s symbolic centers.

Russian forces continued night-time air attacks, hitting a “non-residential building” in Kharkiv, causing a fire but no reported casualties.

Zelenskiy also updated the death toll from a Russian strike on a school in Sumy on Saturday, which now stands at two after search and rescue efforts.

Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar stated that Russian forces were attempting to drive them out of elevated positions in the northeast, previously occupied by Moscow but retaken by Ukrainian troops after the February 2022 invasion.

Maliar highlighted the Russians’ aim to divert Ukrainian forces from the successful offensive in the Bakhmut area.

She emphasized that Ukrainian troops resisted the continuous attacks, pushing back the enemy with significant losses.

Ukraine’s counter-offensive last month focused on a southward campaign to create a separation between Russian-held territories in the east and the annexed Crimean peninsula, as well as reclaiming ground around Bakhmut.

However, fierce fighting has also erupted around Ukrainian-held towns like Kupiansk and Lyman in the northeast.

Maliar acknowledged that Russian forces were determined to recapture areas on the southern front previously taken by Ukraine.

Despite regaining 200 sq. km. in the south, progress was limited due to entrenched Russian positions and the presence of mines.

According to Russia’s Defence Ministry, its forces spotted and deployed rockets to destroy an armoured brigade of Ukrainian troops near Svatove, a key Russian-held town in the northeast.

The Russians also claimed to have repelled four Ukrainian attacks near the town of Lyman, further south.

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