The Ukrainian army intensifies its counteroffensive and takes positions in villages in Donetsk and Zaporizhia
Ukrainian troops are trying to break through Russian defensive lines on a section of the front in Donetsk, where Ukrainian soldiers have attacked in waves to take new positions towards the Sea of Azov, according to Ukrainian and Russian sources quoted by Reuters.
Vladimir Rogov, a pro-Russian official installed by Moscow in the partially occupied Ukrainian region of Zaporizhia, located south of Donetsk, said that intense fighting is taking place south of the village of Velyka Novosilka in Donetsk province, where Ukrainian troops are trying to break through Russian defensive lines.
"The enemy (Ukrainian) has managed to penetrate and occupy a position in the northern part of (the village) Urojaine, after two weeks of the heaviest and bloodiest fighting for this settlement," the pro-Russian official said, referring to the same front line area about which he had previously spoken.
He also mentioned that Russian troops still control the southern part of the village and estimated that the target of Ukrainian troops on that section of the front is to take control of a city located further south, Staromlinivka.
Meanwhile, the General Staff in Kiev announced that Ukrainian troops have achieved a "partial success" on the front sector in the area of the village of Robotine, in Zaporizhia province, a sector where intense fighting has also been taking place for several weeks. Images posted on social media show Ukrainian troops entering the village, according to Agerpres.
But while Ukrainian troops are attacking in the south and east, the Russians are also on the offensive further north, in the area of the city of Kupyansk in Kharkiv province, where Ukrainian authorities ordered the mandatory evacuation of the population from this city and from all neighbouring villages on Thursday.
Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in Donetsk and Zaporizhia provinces in early June, with the first objective of breaking through the front in the south and reaching the Sea of Azov to separate Russian troops and cut off their land corridor to Crimea.
The Ukrainian army has recaptured several villages and some territories around the ruined city of Bahmut, at the cost of significant losses in manpower and equipment, but has so far failed to make any major advance against Russian troops who have built strong defensive lines protected by trench networks and minefields.
