Kyiv: Ukrainian Forces begin offensive operations in specific areas
The Ukrainian Forces are moving to offensive operations in some areas of the front, reported Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar on Telegram .
"A defensive operation contains everything, including counter-offensive actions. Therefore, in some areas we are moving to offensive actions," Malyar said.
She stressed that the Bakhmut direction remains the epicenter of the fighting. There, Ukrainian troops move on a fairly wide front, succeed and capture dominant heights.
According to Malyar, Russian are also on the defensive in the south. Local fighting continues there.
Malyar also noted that the Russians are actively spreading fake news about the counteroffensive, as they need to divert attention from the defeat in the Bakhmut direction.
The commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, Oleksandr Syrsky, said that Ukrainian troops are "moving forward" in the Bakhmut direction.
According to him, the Ukrainian army continues to advance there. The tanks of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade smashed Russian positions near Bakhmut. On Saturday, Hanna Malyar claimed that the Ukrainian army controlled the southwestern outskirts of Bakhmut.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported eralier that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had allegedly launched a "large-scale offensive" in the South of the Donetsk region. The Kremlin claimed that "the enemy did not achieve its goals."
However, pro-Russian military propagandists and so-called military correspondents write that the attack of the Ukrainian army was partially successful, and the situation is becoming "more alarming". According to the Telegram channel WarGonzo, the Ukraine Armed Forces are attacking in the area between Velyka Novosilka and Vuhledar in the west of the Donetsk region. The Ukrainian military managed to enter the outskirts of Novodonetske near Vuhledar. The DPR military commander Khodakovsky claims on his telegram channel that the strike group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reached the line of contact almost unnoticed due to the limited capabilities of Russian aerial reconnaissance.
Alexander Kots, a military correspondent for Komsomolskaya Pravda, also writes about the attack west of Vuhledar. According to him, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are also advancing in the Bakhmut area and carrying out artillery attacks on Soledar. The head of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed earlier that the southwestern outskirts of Bakhmut were controlled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Ukrainian Defense Ministry announced that there would be no announcements about the start of the offensive and called on Ukrainians to observer information silence.