Ukrainian servicemen of the 57th Kost Hordiienko Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade prepare to fire a 2S22 Bohdana self-propelled howitzer towards Russian troops, at a position near the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on July 5.STRINGER/Reuters
Ukraine said on Friday its troops had advanced by more than a kilometre near the eastern city of Bakhmut in the past day of fighting against Russian forces.
The comments were the latest by Kyiv signalling that the counteroffensive it launched in early June is gradually making progress although Russian accounts of fighting in the Bakhmut sector differ from Ukraine’s.
“The defence forces continue to hold the initiative there, putting pressure on the enemy, conducting assault operations, advancing along the northern and southern flanks,” Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for the eastern military command, told Ukrainian television.
“In particular, over the past day, they have advanced more than one kilometre (0.62 mile).”
General Oleksander Syrskyi, who is in charge of Ukraine’s land forces, also said Ukrainian troops were pushing forward in the direction of Bakhmut.
Ukrainian couples, separated by war, find reunion and a rest at this small Polish guesthouse
“The defence forces are making progress and advancing,” he said, adding that some territory had been regained but providing no details.
A spokesperson for the armed forces general staff said Ukrainian forces had had “partial success” near the village of Klishchiivka, just southwest of Bakhmut.
Ukrainian military analysts have said that securing Klishchiivka would help Ukraine take back Bakhmut, which was captured by Russian forces in May after months of fighting.
Russia’s RIA news agency cited a Russian army source as saying this week that Moscow’s forces had repelled an attack on Klishchiivka and were mopping up remaining Ukrainian troops in the area.
Reuters could not verify the battlefield situation.
Moscow, which began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, sees Bakhmut as a stepping stone to attacking other cities. Russia still holds Bakhmut but Ukrainian forces hope to encircle the city.
Kyiv says it has taken back some villages in the south since launching its counteroffensive, but Russia still holds large parts of eastern and southeastern Ukraine.
The EU will devote 500 million euros to boosting the production of ammunition for Ukraine and to replenish the stocks of EU member countries, it announced on Friday.
The European Council and European Parliament representatives struck a provisional agreement overnight and it is expected to enter into force before the end of this month.
Under the deal, subsidies will be given to European arms firms to increase their production capacities and tackle identified bottlenecks.
The scheme is the third part of a broader EU effort to get more ammunition and arms to Ukraine, particularly 155-millimetre artillery shells, which Kyiv is pleading for as the fight against Russia’s invasion has become a war of attrition.