UKRAINE WAR: Intense fighting – offensive advances meter by meter | WELT News

The Ukrainian army reportedly successfully advanced on Thursday around the hard-fought city of Bakhmut in the east of the country. "We are advancing near Bakhmut, and progress is continuing," said the commander of the ground forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, on the online service Telegram. "Our armed forces' offensive towards Melitopol, Berdyansk, and Bakhmut continues," Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar declared on Telegram. The soldiers are fighting a "fierce battle for every meter of enemy land. They are making progress." The situation in Bakhmut is difficult, and the fierce fighting continues, she added. The Ukrainian armed forces have been increasingly attacking the outskirts of the industrial city of Bakhmut for several weeks, achieving gradual successes, while Russia still maintains control of the city center, which it captured in May. In their counteroffensive launched in early June to recapture Russian-occupied territories in the east and south of the country, the Ukrainian armed forces have so far recaptured around ten towns. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a BBC interview last week that the offensive was progressing "slower than desired." The Russian army has built defensive lines of trenches and mined terrain to push back the Western-backed Ukrainian troops. Bakhmut, which had a population of 70,000 before the war began, is now largely destroyed and deserted. The capture of the town has taken on great symbolic significance given the months of fighting that have resulted in heavy losses on both sides. #ukraine #war #weltnetzreporter Subscribe to the WELT Netzreporter Channel    / dienetzreporter   WELT News Channel    / weltvideotv   WELT DOKU Channel    / weltdoku   WELT Podcast Channel    / weltpodcast   The WELT News Livestream http://bit.ly/2fwuMPg The top news on WELT.de http://bit.ly/2rQQD9Q The media library on WELT.de http://bit.ly/2Iydxv8 WELT News Channel on Instagram https://bit.ly/IGWELTTV WELT on Instagram http://bit.ly/2X1M7Hk On a personal note: Due to the high volume of irrelevant and offensive posts, we are currently unable to accept any more comments. Thank you for your understanding - the WELT team This video was created in 2023